Chance Encounters
by EnglishPoet18
Summary: Totally AU fic...CARYL fic all the way! Daryl and Carol first meet when they're 11 & 13...They develop a friendship over time, but will a chance encounter years later turn into more? Rated 'M' for mature themes and eventual smutty stuff!
1. Chapter 1

_**Hi! New story here! For those of you who are following me over from other fics: welcome! For those who are joining me for the first time: Thanks for giving me a chance! This story is going to be completely AU and I'm not sure about other characters in this one yet, but there may be some. This is starting out a little differently than I'm used to, but hopefully it will catch your interest. The first chapter isn't as long as I would like, but I'm just trying to get a feel for the story and get a little introduction of sorts going so expect the chapters to increase in length a little. I'm not sure how often I will get to update this one right now because of everything else I have going on, but I'll try to update this one weekly at the latest. Thanks for giving it a try and I would love to hear feedback!**_

...

Carol Halcomb was eleven years old when she got her first crush on a boy. She was reading out in the front yard, the sun high in the afternoon sky and the air crisp from the Autumn air surrounding them. Reading was her favorite thing to do next to drawing. She loved to draw as well and somehow a new sketch pad would always mysteriously pop up in her room when her old one got filled up. She knew it was her Daddy, but she never said anything and he didn't either, instead choosing to keep it a secret just between the two of them.

Carol was a Daddy's girl through and through. Richard Halcomb was a hero and in her eyes no one else compared to her Daddy. He was the rock that kept their little family going when times got rough. Carol's parents were more in love than any two people she had ever met and even when they were broke and struggling to make it until the next payday, they still managed to keep a smile on their face. Carol believed in that kind of stuff. She had a tendency to believe the good in people, even if others thought they were bad. Everyone deserved a fair shot in life is what her Daddy had always told her and Carol believed it.

She was also a very nosey person by nature and right now her curiosity was piqued by the flurry of activity at the old house next door to theirs. It had been abandoned for some time and it was actually somewhat of an eyesore so the fact that someone was actually going to inhabit the place was shocking to her. So far, she had only seen two big men moving stuff out of the back of a beat up pickup truck. Carol was disappointed by that. It was just her luck that they would finally get a neighbor and it would be some smelly old man who creeped everyone out. She sighed and flipped a page in her book, scanning over the words as she glanced back and forth occasionally. A loud bang drew her attention to the street and she watched a rusted out old Ford come speeding into the driveway. Staring over the top of her book and trying to remain inconspicuous, Carol watched as two boys exited the truck and began helping the other men carry boxes inside of the house. One of the boys didn't seem much older than herself while the other was clearly a teenager. She eyed the younger of the two. He was skinny and his hair was shaggy, almost completely covering his eyes. His clothes were well worn and slightly dirty, but that was to be expected from a boy his age. She watched them work for a while, carrying boxes and various other items in and out. Occasionally one of the older men would shout something at the two boys and they would nod and go back to work.

"Spying on the neighbors I see," A teasing voice said from behind her.

Carol jumped guiltily, shifting her eyes to her Daddy, "Sorry Daddy," She said.

He chuckled and ruffled her hair affectionately, "If you're trying not to make it too obvious then you might want to pick the book up a little higher and close your mouth some," He said.

Carol frowned and then shook her head, "Gotta work on that," She replied seriously.

"So we got new neighbors. What do you know about them. Spill," Richard said as he sat down cross-legged next to his daughter.

She wrinkled her nose and sighed, "Okay so there's two men and so far I think one might be the Daddy, but I'm not sure. Then the two _boys_ might be brothers judging from the way they horseplay back and forth, but that's not been proven either. They seem to be a lively bunch and they have a mouth like a sailor," Carol finished.

Richard let out a bark of laughter and squeezed his daughter affectionately, "I love your imaginative brain honey. Why don't we go over and say hello? Your Momma just made some fresh lemonade and I bet they would appreciate a cool drink while they work," He suggested.

Carol snapped her book closed and jumped up, always eager to meet new people and be helpful in any way she could, "Well come on! What are you waiting for?" She asked excitedly. In her opinion, this was _way_ better than books. Real life was never this exciting for her and she jumped at the chance to do something different.

Richard stood up and wiped at his pants, following along behind his daughter who was crossing the yard at a rapid rate. He quickly caught up and the two of them stood by the porch as the teenager appeared, not noticing them for the moment.

"Hurry tha hell up Darylina! I got me a date tonight an' I need tha truck!" The boy shouted somewhere into the depths of the house.

There was a muffled reply and then the younger of the two boys appeared, "Don't get yer panties in a wad," He muttered.

The teenager laughed as he started to turn, "I'm gon' get me some pan-" His voice trailed off as he spotted Carol and her Daddy standing there beside the porch. Carol's eyes danced with amusement at the scene and she hid a snicker at her guess of what the older boy was going to say. Her Daddy gave her a stern look that held absolutely no authority in it whatsoever.

"Hello there!" Richard called out to them as the two boys just stood there staring.

The boys both nodded in greeting and Carol's eyes again drifted to the younger of the two. He swiped at the locks of hair that constantly fell into his eyes and she thought that he could definitely use a haircut. He stared at her through the strands of his hair, but he remained silent.

Her Daddy stepped forward and extended his hand to the teenager, "My name's Richard Halcomb and this here is my daughter Carol. We live next door to you folks," He said.

The teenager glanced at her Daddy's hand, sucking his teeth before finally shaking it, "Name's Merle Dixon," He jerked his head to the younger boy behind him, "That's my lil' brotha Daryl," Merle said.

"Nice to meet you both. Is your father around?" Richard asked.

Daryl nodded and pointed inside the house, "Hank's in there somewhere," He offered quietly.

Merle snorted, "Prolly sittin' on his ass while we do all tha work no doubt," He grumbled as he walked down the steps and over to the truck for another box.

"Ya better watch yer filthy mouth an' respect yer elders son," One of the bigger men, who Carol was assuming was Hank, barked out as he appeared in the doorway.

Carol saw Daryl cringe as the big man laid his hand on the boy's shoulder. She studied the two of them, fascinated by the fact that Daryl almost seemed scared of the man. That was something Carol didn't understand. She couldn't think of a time when she had ever been scared of her Daddy. He always had a smile for her no matter how bad he felt. Hank lit a cigarette and slowly made his way down the steps and over to them.

"How ya folks doin'?" He drawled.

Carol took in the man who reeked of cigarette smoke and the faint scent of alcohol. His fingers were dirty and his face was old and creased with wrinkles. His lips twitched, but he didn't smile and Carol wondered if maybe he _was_ smiling but they just couldn't tell. He was a pretty big guy and pretty intimidating to say the least. She edged closer to her Daddy subconsciously.

Richard stuck out his hand, "Just fine. Was just introducing ourselves to Merle and Daryl here. Name's Richard and this here is my daughter Carol," Richard tugged Carol close to him, patting her shoulder with a smile. She smiled back at her Daddy adoringly.

"Name's Hank," The big man replied. He didn't move to shake her Daddy's hand and after a minute her Daddy dropped it back to his side. "Them's my two boys. DNA test results proved it," Hank cackled and slapped his knee like it was the world's best joke. Carol didn't get it, but she looked up at her Daddy as he chuckled. _Maybe it was an adult joke?_

"Listen, my wife just stirred up a batch of fresh lemonade. Can we offer you a glass? I can send Carol over for it," Richard offered.

"Sounds good," Hank replied. He turned towards the house, "Daryl!" He yelled and a few minutes later the younger boy appeared again. "Run on over to tha house with Carol here an' get us some lemonade boy. Make yerself useful fer once."

"Yessir," Daryl replied.

Carol looked up at her Daddy, "Want me to bring you a glass too Daddy?" She offered.

He smiled down at her, his eyes crinkling, "No sweetheart. I'm fine. Just tell your mother we've got some plastic cups on top of the fridge she can use. Although knowing your mother, she'll send over some cookies as well," He chuckled.

"Okay. Be right back," Carol looked over at Daryl who stood there somewhat awkwardly. She turned to walk back over to her house, glancing over her shoulder to see him trudging along behind her.

She slowed her pace giving him time to catch up, "I'm eleven," She said perkily. "How old are you?"

He glanced at her almost like he was scared to say anything then he finally muttered, "Thirteen."

Carol nodded, "I guess you'll be at the middle school then. I won't be there until next year," She said a little sadly. She was hoping that they might be the same age so that she could have someone to talk to in her classes.

He shrugged, "Dunno."

Carol sighed, seeing that it was going to take a whole lot of urging to get him to say more than a few words at a time. She opened the back door thinking he would go inside, but he held back, letting her go in first instead. She shook her head. He sure was quiet for a boy and his family was a little different, but Carol didn't think he was too bad. In fact, given a little time she figured that she could get him talking to her more and then they might even be friends. You could never have too many friends in this life and he definitely looked as though he could use one.

...

**_Review?_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey y'all! I got back to this one quicker than I thought! Had to get this one out this morning when it came to me over breakfast! In this chapter, we explore a little bit about Daryl and his life, getting a glimpse into his backstory here. I hope y'all enjoy it and thanks a thousand times for all of the reviews! I'm awed and honored that so many took the time to read this! Enjoy!**_

...

Daryl Dixon wasn't your average thirteen year old.

He didn't get to go to the movies, think about girls, or do lots of other things that boys his age did. Daryl worried. He worried about having food, electricity, and a place to lay his head down at night. Daryl Dixon didn't know what it was to have friends and just be a boy. His only friend, if you could consider family a friend, was his brother Merle. Merle was so far ahead of him in age at seventeen that even that wasn't much consolation. All of these things didn't really _bother _Daryl though. As long as he had those three things then he felt like things were going okay.

There _was_ one thing that Daryl liked to do though. Daryl liked to spend time in the woods. His brother had been the one to take him on his first hunting trip at the age of ten. Merle taught him to shoot a gun too, although Daryl found that he didn't really care for guns. One year, a particularly good year in Daryl's opinion, he got a small bow for Christmas. It wasn't anything special, just a piece of metal with some string tied to it and arrows to go along with it, but it was special to Daryl. That was the year Hank had decided he was going to quit drinking and try to straighten up his life. It was probably the one time they had felt almost like a family in all of Daryl's thirteen years. That was when Daryl's momma had still been living. They lost her soon after, in a house fire that started from a space heater that was too close to a curtain and caught fire. None of them were home and his momma had been practically comatose, having taken to shooting herself in the arm with needles.

Daryl remembered stepping off of the school bus and seeing the smoke as he walked down the dirt road. He remembered standing there silently as the firefighters had attempted to distinguish the fire and when seeing that it was too far gone, they just kept it manageable and let it burn. He couldn't remember how long he had stood there, the flames reflecting across his eyes as he watched the little shack burn. At some point someone had come and taken him by the arm, telling him that his momma had been in the house and they hadn't been able to get to her in time. Daryl had stared at them blankly, but surprisingly he didn't cry. He had long since learned that crying was for pussies and was likely to earn you a beating or if you were already receiving one, then it was likely to earn you more licks. Dixon's didn't cry.

Merle had been thirteen at the time when their momma had died. Already cutting school and hanging out with a rough crowd, Merle Dixon had already earned himself a reputation for being an asshole. The pattern had continued on a downward spiral with Merle going to school maybe two or three days a week before they just kicked him out altogether, claiming he was a lost cause. Daryl remembered because he had seen the letter from the principal. Merle had been fifteen when he had received that letter. Daryl had watched Merle read over the letter, his eyebrows furrowed as he undoubtedly tried to sound out some of the longer words in his head. He had scoffed, balling up the paper in his fist and tossing it into the trash. Daryl had seen the flash of hurt in his eyes that his brother had quickly concealed upon seeing him.

_"What happened Merle?" Daryl asked his brother. _

_Merle smirked at Daryl, shrugging his shoulders, "Reckon' I done got myself kicked out of school Darlina. Seems they don't like it when ya half-ass show up an' sleep through most o' yer classes," Merle narrowed his eyes at Daryl. "Don'tcha go tellin' Hank neither. Don't need ta hear his shit right now."_

_Daryl's eyes widened, "Ya know I ain't gon' tell. but how ya gonna keep it from him?" _

_Merle chuckled, "Ain't that hard. Hell half tha damn time he's so drunk he can barely see two fuckin' feet in front of him. I'll disappear durin' tha day. Show up 'round time you do," He said. _

_Daryl nodded, not wanting to rat his brother out. That wasn't how the code of brother's worked. Daryl had made up the code himself a few years before, when the beatings had started. The code of brothers simply allowed for you to be mean to each other, but it didn't allow you to rat the other one out, especially where Hank was concerned. Quite simply, Merle could talk shit to Daryl and vice versa, but no one else was allowed to talk shit to them, not without answering to someone's fist. It was about the only thing that showed any sort of bond between the two boys. _

_"Ya ain't gonna get back on that shit are ya Merle?" Daryl asked._

_Merle had taken to hanging with some of the older kids and somewhere along the way someone had introduced him to pills. Merle didn't take them often, but on bad days and especially when Hank was raging, Merle would disappear on a bender and come home looking like hell warmed over. He had been doing pretty good recently though and Daryl was proud of his brother even though he would never say so. Saying you were proud to Merle Dixon would likely earn you a swift kick in your ass. Merle never could take a compliment. _

_Merle sneered at Daryl, "Ya jus' keep yer nose clean brotha. Let me handle my own shit. Ya ain't my daddy," Merle stalked away and Daryl reached into the trash can to pull out the crumpled up piece of paper. Scanning it, he skimmed over some things like, "nuisance", "accelerated classes", and then his eyes had fallen on the phrase "lost cause". _

_Daryl had stared at that phrase for several moments. What exactly qualified someone as a lost cause? How many attempts were you given before someone decided to give up on you completely? Could a person come back from that or was it one of those things that followed you around forever? _

_Daryl crumpled up the paper and buried it down into the trash can just in case. The phrase "lost cause" haunted him and he wondered if he was destined to follow in his brother's footsteps. Hank was always saying he was a fuck-up. Did that mean Daryl would eventually fall into this category of lost causes too? _

...

"Daryl!" Hank roared. "Jesus boy! Ya got mud in ya damn ears? Get yer ass in here!"

Daryl scrambled from his daydream and hurried into the living room of their "new" house. Hank was slamming things around in the kitchen, mumbling about there not being "shit" to eat in the house. "Yessir?" Daryl replied as he entered the room. He hated saying sir to the man, but he also knew better than to say anything else. You just didn't go around poking at sleeping bears unless you were prepared to suffer the consequences. To Daryl it just wasn't worth all that.

"I thought I told you an' yer damn brother ta get some damn sugar at tha grocery store? How can ya have coffee without any fuckin' sugar?!" Hank raged as he slammed cabinets in search of the sugar that he would never find.

Daryl didn't remember Hank telling them to get sugar and usually he checked for stuff like that, but being busy with the move had gotten him behind. He stood there, unsure for the moment what he should do to remedy the situation. He didn't have a driver's license, although he had learned to drive last year and he had no idea where the store was. Besides, you had to have money for sugar and that was something Daryl didn't have.

Hank slammed the fridge door shut and turned around to glare at him, "Well don't just stand there like a fuckin' retard! Go get me some fuckin' sugar boy!"

Daryl swallowed and then nodded briefly before going to his room and slipping his worn boots onto his feet. This house was actually one of the nicer places that they had stayed and the only reason they had gotten it was because Hank had found himself a new job down at the lumber mill, stacking lumber with a forklift. It couldn't have come at a better time too because they had just received their eviction notice at the other place. Daryl had come to recognize the little slips of paper taped to the door from a distance. It was always the same cycle. Hank would bullshit himself into a job somewhere and things would go okay for a while then slowly Hank would slip further and further into his drinking binges. That's when Daryl tried to go home as least as possible. Eventually Hank would end up spending his whole paycheck on beer and women and then one day the eviction notice would pop up like a little flag waving its surrender in the wind.

Merle was hardly around anymore. Now that he had his own truck he was gone as much as he possibly could be. Merle was at the age now where he had definitely taken a notice to girls and he often could be found sneaking out of their windows in the middle of the night or in the early mornings. Several times he had told Daryl about some college girls he had spent the night with. Daryl listened to him talk, but he wasn't interested in girls like that. Most girls he knew annoyed the shit out of him. All they talked about were boys and makeup. They giggled a lot too and Daryl couldn't stand that.

The only good thing to come out of Merle getting a truck was that he had also gotten his GED. One day he had woken up and taken it upon himself to go and get his GED so that he could find himself a good job. Merle was bound and determined that he wasn't coming home without it and he had been right. It had taken Merle damn near all day to take the test, taking all of the time that was allotted to them to finish it. It was the hardest Daryl had ever seen him work for anything, but he had always known that his brother wasn't stupid. He suspected it had something to do with a girl he had been seeing at the time. She had been a little rich for their blood, but she had taken a liking to Merle and Daryl suspected that Merle had been trying to impress her. Fortunately the relationship had lasted just long enough for Merle to get the damn GED before the girl dumped him for someone with more money to keep her occupied. Merle had raged for a while about that one, calling the girl every name under the sun and then the next night he was off on another date as if the breakup hadn't even occurred. Daryl didn't have the time or energy for shit like that.

He slipped out of the backdoor trying to figure out where he was going to get sugar from when he saw the light on in the house next door. He had met the new neighbors yesterday. They had a daughter near his age and they had seemed like pretty nice people. The girl's mother had given him lemonade and cookies that he had gobbled up so quickly she had laughed at him, ruffling his hair affectionately. He had tolerated the touch simply because she was nice to him and he didn't feel like she had been laughing _at_ him. She had given him a sly smile and slipped him a baggie with some extra cookies in it for later before he had left. Daryl had enjoyed the hell out of those cookies last night while lying in bed. He had eaten every one of them, not wanting Hank or Merle to find them and eat them before he could. Cookies were a rare treat and they had been homemade to boot.

He stepped down off of the back steps and slowly made his way over to their door, hoping that they were still as nice to him this morning. As he walked up the steps to knock, he caught a glimpse of them in the kitchen and he stopped for a moment to observe them. Daryl didn't know much about "traditional" families, but they seemed to be pretty damn close. The woman, Sherry, as she had called herself, was standing at the stove cooking something that smelled downright heavenly. The girl was sitting at the kitchen table with a pad and a pencil, her tongue sticking between her lips as she concentrated on whatever she was doing. The man walked into the room suddenly, leaning over to press a kiss to his daughter's cheek before walking up behind Sherry and winding his arms around her waist. Sherry leaned into him and as Daryl watched she pressed a kiss to his cheek with a smile. Daryl's eyes shifted back to the girl who had stopped working her pencil and was observing her parents by the stove with an amused grin on her face. Daryl was so transfixed on the whole scene that he nearly jumped a foot into the air when the girl's eyes suddenly shifted to his and she turned to say something to her daddy who turned to look at him with a frown.

Daryl wanted to smack himself in the forehead. The man was probably going to come out and kick his ass now, thinking Daryl was some kind of peeping Tom or something. He hurried down the steps, forgetting all about the sugar. He made it two steps away from the porch before the man opened the door.

"Daryl?" The man called out.

Daryl paused, his hands clenched into fists by his side. He had been caught now so he supposed he might as well face the music. He didn't really want to make enemies with these people anyhow. Especially with Sherry who had mentioned she loved to bake and that meant the possibility of more cookies. Daryl turned around, prepared to face the music and trudged back over to the man, his back and shoulders straight as he stared him square in the eye.

"Is everything okay?" The man asked.

Daryl was confused. He sounded concerned not angry as Daryl had expected and that momentarily threw Daryl off track as he continued to stare at him mutely. The man placed a hand on Daryl's shoulder, snapping Daryl to his senses. Daryl jerked beneath the touch, yanking his shoulder out of arm's reach. It was okay for the woman to ruffle his hair because she had given him cookies and smiled at him. It was not okay for this man who he didn't know from Adam to touch his shoulder.

"I...I didn't mean ta stare," Daryl stammered.

The man smiled at him and shook his head, "It's no problem Daryl. Is there something that I can do for you?"

Suddenly Sherry appeared at the door, Daryl's eyes lighting up as he spotted her. She smiled at him over her husband's shoulder. Pushing the man to the side, she reached out for Daryl, "Come on in here honey. No need to stand out there on the porch. Richard, where are your manner's?" She chastised the man.

Richard shrugged in apology, "Sorry Daryl. Haven't had my coffee yet. Better get on it before the wife adds to the honey-do list for the day," He chuckled as Sherry swatted at him with her dishcloth.

Smooth hands grasped his arm and Daryl allowed himself to be pulled inside by her. The girl had abandoned her pad and was openly staring at him. He cleared his throat and suddenly remembered why he was there. "I was wonderin'... we outta sugar an' Hank's a bear if'n he don't have his coffee. I seen ya do a lotta bakin' an' I thought ya might have some ta spare. I'll pay ya back for it when we get some more," Daryl said quickly.

Sherry exchanged a glance with Richard and then she smiled at Daryl, "Of course I have some sugar you can have honey and don't you dare try to pay me back for it! That's what neighbors do! I tell you what, have you eaten?" She asked.

Daryl shook his head, the scents floating around the kitchen assaulting his nostrils and making his belly rumble, "No," He replied as his cheeks reddened.

Sherry clucked her tongue, "Why don't you have a seat right over there and you can eat some breakfast with us while I fix that sugar up for you? Carol, move your stuff off of the table honey," Sherry said as she began flitting around the kitchen.

Daryl hesitated, "Uh, I really ought ta get tha sugar back over ta Hank. He'll be waitin' on me," He said nervously. He would rather stay because he knew that his choices were likely to be dry toast at home and that was only if he was lucky. This option sounded much better to his stomach, but he knew he would suffer Hank's wrath later if he didn't hurry up with the sugar.

Richard cleared his throat, "Tell you what. Why don't I run this sugar over to Hank myself and I'll invite him to breakfast as well. We've got plenty, don't we Sherry?" Richard asked his wife.

Sherry nodded, her eyes crinkling as she smiled at Daryl. Daryl decided that he really liked this woman who smiled at him a lot. She had nice teeth and she was really pretty for a woman. He thought about how lucky Carol was for having such a nice momma. His own hadn't ever been like that as far back as he could remember of her.

"I can throw on some more pancakes. It's not a problem. Go on over there Richard so I can fatten this boy up. He needs some meat on his bones," Sherry said.

Daryl stared down at himself as Richard left with the sugar. He didn't think he was all that skinny, but for some reason this woman seemed bound and determined to feed him. That was just fine with Daryl. He was never one to turn down free food when he could get it. He was a little nervous about Hank coming over though. The man didn't do well in social situations and he was already in a mood this morning.

"Hi," Carol said perkily from her seat next to him and he shifted his eyes away from Sherry to look at her.

"Hey," He nodded his head at her in greeting.

"Did you get enrolled in school yet?" She asked.

Daryl shook his head. He didn't even know what day school started or where the school was, "When do ya enroll?" He asked as Sherry placed a glass of milk in front of him.

"I'm taking Carol on Monday to enroll. If you're at the middle school then you'll probably enroll then too. It starts next week," Sherry said.

Daryl nodded, "I'll tell Hank," He said even though he knew it wouldn't make much difference. Hank wouldn't ever take him and he usually ended up getting Merle to take him. He would just quit altogether, but apparently there was some kind of law against that when you were under age. He shifted in his seat as he waited. He glanced over at Carol and she smiled at him. "So what'cha drawin' on yer pad?" Daryl asked.

He figured she would show him something decorated with unicorns and all that other girly shit, but when she opened her pad Daryl was impressed by what he saw. On the pad she had drawn the house next door that he was staying in. She had captured it so realistically that he was momentarily stunned and he ran his fingers over it carefully. He glanced at her to find her watching him and he closed his mouth and gave her a small smile.

"S'good. Where'd ya learn ta draw like that?" He asked.

She shrugged, "I don't know. Momma and Daddy aren't artistic at all. Daddy said I probably got it from his momma who could draw anything you put in front of her he said," She blushed a little. "It's not that good and I've done better. The lighting was all wrong and the angles are sloppy," She explained. Daryl didn't have any idea what she was talking about. He didn't know anything about lighting or angles, but the drawing looked just fine to him, awesome even. "What do you like to do?" She asked.

Daryl took a sip of his milk and shrugged, "I like ta hunt an' go walkin' in tha woods mostly," He said.

Carol wrinkled her nose, "Never been hunting. Do you _kill_ animals?" She asked softly.

Daryl nodded and her face fell, making him feel bad for telling her that he did. "I don't kill nothin' I don't eat though," He said in his defense. "Don't do it for sport," He said. Carol's face brightened a little and he was glad. He didn't want to make the girl cry. After all, she seemed to be pretty nice for a girl.

"We got some woods across the street and there's a little creek I sometimes go to when I want to be alone and draw. I could show you where it is if you want," She offered.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Daryl replied.

Her face grew red, "Okay," She said softly.

Daryl felt his own face growing red in response. He couldn't understand why he was acting like that. She was just a girl, no different from any other girl he had ever encountered, so why did this time it feel different?

...

_**Review me! :-)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hi everyone! Got lots of plans for this one and it's killing me to move this slow, but that's the way this one needs to go. This chapter is flashing forward by one month. There will be quite a few time jumps for various chapters, but I will make sure to always mention them so that no gets lost. I'm glad to see so many have reviewed and followed this story! I'm thankful for that and I hope I can make it enjoyable for you! It's certainly different for me! Thanks again and hope to see some of you in chat tonight at 9pm Eastern! **_

...

"Ya ain't nothin' but a worthless piece a shit!" Hank bellowed, his words beginning to slur just a bit.

Daryl bit his tongue to keep from crying out as the bite of the leather belt snapped against his back again. He wouldn't give Hank the satisfaction of knowing that it hurt. He would die first.

Daryl had come home from school, having completed one month so far to find Hank well on his way to becoming drunk. Daryl wasn't sure where he had gotten the liquor from since Hank was supposedly broke, but he had it and he was drinking the hell out of it. As soon as Daryl had stepped foot in the house, intent on grabbing his bow and disappearing to the woods for a while since it was the weekend, he knew it was a mistake. The moment Hank lay eyes on him Daryl could tell he was in for it regardless of whether or not he had done anything wrong.

Daryl squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for another slap of the leather, but it never came. Daring to glance over his shoulder, he saw that Hank had gotten distracted by the fact that his bottle was empty and he was now rummaging around in the kitchen, obviously looking for a replacement. Daryl seized the opportunity to snatch up his shirt and haul ass towards the front door. It wasn't hard to outrun Hank. When he was drunk his coordination wasn't worth shit and he barely had time to look up before Daryl was yanking the door open.

"Run like a lil'…pu…pussy! Jus' like ya brotha!" Hank slurred loudly from behind him.

Daryl ignored him and slammed the door, pausing for just a moment to slip his shirt back on. He winced as the fabric of the shirt rubbed the fresh welts. It was beginning to grow dark out, another sign that winter would soon be approaching as the days grew shorter. Daryl hated that and he hated school for taking up so much time out of the day. School was a waste of daylight in his opinion. He would much rather be outside where he could be free to do whatever he wanted without fear of repercussion.

He stepped down off of the porch, his mind searching for somewhere to go. He knew that Hank would likely be passed out soon, but until then Daryl needed to kill some time. Merle conveniently wasn't home and Daryl didn't expect him home until probably tomorrow being that it was the weekend. Daryl was left to his own devices once again, something that he was oddly growing accustomed to. Hearing a crash inside of the house Daryl's pulse began to race and he ran around the side of the house just in case Hank came outside.

He stood there for a moment to gather his thoughts when his eyes caught on the glow of the light coming from Carol's window to her bedroom. He knew it was hers because he had been over there a few times in the past month. Carol wasn't like all of the other girls and she seemed fascinated by the outdoors and his crossbow, which he was in the process of teaching her how to use. She blushed whenever he said a curse word and sometimes he found himself saying a particularly nasty one just to see her cheeks redden. Carol was also smart, probably the smartest girl that Daryl had ever met though that wasn't saying much considering the type of people that drifted in and out of his life. Carol was the reason that Daryl was passing seventh grade English right now. It wasn't even that he was stupid, but he just didn't see the point on learning adjectives, nouns, and verbs. He had no plans to become an English teacher nor be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune.

What Daryl wanted to be was a carpenter. He loved to take pieces of wood and make things with them. His latest project was already underway. He was building himself a treehouse in the woods. It would be a place that was all his own. A place that he could go to when shit hit the fan at home. He was tired of having to find random places to lay his head at times.

He sighed as he continued to eye Carol's window. He knew that at her house they were probably getting ready to eat dinner if they hadn't already, but it was getting chilly out now that the sun was gone and he was running out of options. Brushing past the bushes that separated their property, he pressed an ear to her window. He didn't hear anything and he stooped to pick up a small pebble from the ground and toss it against the glass. He repeated this action several times remaining ready to duck in case her daddy came to the window.

He wasn't scared of her daddy at all, but he also hadn't ever attempted to visit with Carol at her window. Daryl was pretty sure her parents weren't the type to approve of boys spending time alone with girls even though that was the last thing on his mind. Carol was his friend and he just didn't look at her that way. Just when he was getting ready to give up, he heard footsteps and then he saw Carol peeking through the blinds. He popped up, making her gasp and narrow her eyes at him before she tugged the window up to stick her head out.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered.

"Need somewhere ta hide out. Hank's ragin'," Daryl replied. He hadn't told Carol about the beatings, but she knew about Hanks' temper. And the only reason she knew about that was because it was extremely hard to keep something like that a secret when Hank had a tendency to rage in the front yard or in town at the grocery store. Everyone in the neighborhood knew Hank had a temper by now and Daryl hated the looks of pity that it brought on. Daryl hated pity. He would rather be ignored than be pitied any day.

Carol grunted as she pushed the window up further and Daryl slid inside as quietly as possible, wincing as his back protested the movement. He stood inside of her room as she shut the window, scared to touch anything because it was so _clean_. It wasn't pink though, for which Daryl was thankful. He couldn't stand the color pink. Her walls were a creamy white color and tacked onto them in various places were her drawings. Daryl turned slowly in a circle, surveying them all with awe. She was really good.

"Did'ja enter tha art show?" Daryl asked, suddenly remembering that she had mentioned it to him last week.

Carol was kind of shy about her artwork and she didn't like a lot of people fawning over it because it made her uncomfortable for some reason. Daryl had seen the flyer fall from her backpack and he had nagged her about it until she had promised to enter one of her drawings. Daryl wasn't sure if she had actually gone through with it though.

Carol nodded, "Yeah."

"When ya s'posed ta know somethin'?" Daryl asked. The first place prize in the show was a gift card for one hundred fifty dollars which could buy her a ton of art supplies. He was confident that she would win.

"Couple of weeks," Carol responded. She sat down on the edge of her bed, picking her sketch book back up.

Daryl glanced over her shoulder at her drawing and saw that she was drawing a clown at the circus with a bunch of balloons in its hand. He watched her for several minutes until she glanced up, cocking an eyebrow at him for staring. He held up his hands and sat down on the bed, trying to think of something to do.

"Ya ate dinner yet?" He asked.

Carol shook her head, her eyes focused on drawing a perfect oval for a balloon, "Not yet. Mama's making lasagna," She paused and looked at him. "You can stay for dinner if you want. You know they won't mind," She offered.

Daryl thought about it, but then shook his head. He didn't feel like being chatty right now and her parents tended to ask a lot of questions. "Nah, that's okay. I'll get somethin' when I go home," He replied.

Carol rolled her eyes, "Just wait in here when it's time for dinner. I'll bring you something back," She said.

"Ain't gotta do that," Daryl insisted.

Carol shrugged, "Mama always makes plenty you know that. Dinner should be ready so-" Carol's voice broke off and she set her sketch pad to the side of the bed to crawl behind Daryl. "Your back is bleeding!" She said.

Daryl closed his eyes for a second, wanting to groan out loud. That explained the reason that his back felt itchy and damp. He had assumed it was from sweat, but obviously Hank had beat him harder than he had originally thought. "Ain't nothin'," Daryl tried to brush it off.

Carol jumped up and grabbed some napkins from her desk in the corner and climbed back onto the bed. Before Daryl could stop her, she lifted his shirt and pressed several napkins against his bare skin. Daryl hissed in pain and tried to twist, but she gripped him with surprisingly strong fingers for a girl.

"You're bleeding everywhere! What happened?" She asked in wonder.

Daryl swallowed over the bile that threatened to rise out of his throat, "I said it ain't nothin'," He muttered.

"Daryl Dixon, you tell me now! There are cuts on your skin!" She exclaimed.

He snatched the rest of the napkins from her hand, pulling his shirt back down angrily, "Hank's been drinkin' alright?" He snapped.

Her wide eyes flew to his as her mind digested the new information that had just been given to her, "_Hank_ did this?" She whispered.

Daryl nodded numbly, "Ain't nothin' ta worry 'bout. It'll stop soon. Got some cream at home fer it," He lied.

Carol climbed off of the bed and stood up, eyeing him worriedly, "Maybe I should tell Daddy about this. He would know what to do," She said.

A look of panic crossed Daryl's face and he grabbed her wrist, noticing briefly how frail she was compared to him, "No! Ya can't say nothin' ta nobody!" He whispered loudly. "If Richard sticks his nose in this then it'll jus' be that much worse fer me when he leaves. I ain't got but five more years an' I can leave legally. Most o' tha time I dodge him when he's in a mood or drinkin', but today I weren't thinkin' none," He explained.

Carol slowly sat back down on the bed, her expression worried and fearful, "I won't tell," She promised softly. "He does this to you a lot?" She asked.

Daryl shrugged, "It depends on that mood he's in. Most o' that time I can sense it an' get away, but I didn't make it this time."

Daryl looked down at the floor in embarrassment. _No_ one knew about what went on at home and no one sure as hell knew about his scars besides Merle. For some reason though, he felt like he could trust Carol to keep the information to herself. She was his first real friend and friends didn't rat you out. Carol bit her lip and they sat there in silence for a few moments before they both turned their heads toward her closed door when her mama called out that dinner was ready.

Carol stood up, "You sure you don't want to come? You can sneak back out of the window and knock on the door," She suggested.

Daryl shook his head, "Jus' wanna be alone. Ya go ahead," He said.

She twisted her hands together in front of her, "Will you wait in here? I can sneak you some back to the room. Sometimes Mama lets me take a plate in here if I have seconds and I'm working on a drawing," She said.

Daryl shrugged. It didn't matter to him one way or the other. He had time to kill anyhow and it was warm in here and blessedly quiet. "I'll be here," He mumbled.

Carol smiled and bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, "Great! I'll try to hurry," She said excitedly. She opened the door and then turned back as she suddenly remembered something, "Oh! I almost forgot! Look in my backpack! I checked out a book at the library that I thought you might like," She said quickly before her Mama called her again.

"Coming Mama!" She yelled back before closing the door behind her.

Daryl spotted her blue backpack lying on the floor by her desk and he walked over to it, unzipping it curiously. He reached past several textbooks to pull out two smaller books. Turning them over he saw that one was entitled, "Exceptional Treehouses" and another was labeled "Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction." It had a picture of a crossbow on the front and Daryl snickered at the title. Shaking his head he settled down into the corner of her room to read while he waited, his stomach growling at the promise of lasagna.

...

_**Reviews are appreciated! :-)**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Hey y'all! Moving on along here! I hope the pacing is okay with everyone. I like these glimpses into their childhood which we so rarely get to see! I'm really starting to fall in love with this fic! As always, I thank y'all for the support! I'm headed to work on some more of my stories and I'll try to update one of them today as well before I'm done. Hope to see some of you in tonight's chat at 9PM Eastern at FansofCARYL dot com! If you haven't checked it out already, then be sure to check out the story I did with SOALOVINGMOM entitled: Save a Horse, Ride a Dixon. It's a completely smutty story so if it's not your thing, then don't bother reading it. LOL! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! Let me know if there's anything you want to see during the childhood years! _**

...

"Are you sure it's safe?" Carol asked Daryl.

She stared up at the tree house that Daryl said was finished with skepticism. It wasn't very appealing to the eye and Carol was currently having her doubts as to whether or not it would support both of their weights as Daryl stared down at her from the hole in the floor. Her breaths were coming out in white puffs in the crisp winter air. Soon it would be Thanksgiving and the weather was already cold enough to wear a jacket whenever they ventured outdoors now.

"'Course it's safe! I'm up here, ain't I?" Daryl called back down to her. "Jus' use tha ladder on tha tree an' you'll be fine."

Carol sighed and eyed the ladder warily. She wasn't too thrilled about it, but she was curious to see how the inside of the tree house looked and she didn't want Daryl to think she was too chicken to climb up there. She supposed that if she died then she could at least say she had died trying. Flicking her eyes back up to his once more, she headed over to the ladder.

"This better be worth it," She muttered.

"You'll love it," He replied even though she hadn't meant for him to hear her.

She made her way slowly up the ladder. She wasn't a big fan of heights, but she sucked it up for Daryl. The two of them had become almost inseparable over the months. Daryl was the best friend that she never had and they had no secrets between them. Often times, Daryl would sneak out of his house and into her window at night and they would chat about anything and everything under the sun. Sometimes Daryl would come and Carol could tell right off that something was wrong. He would be moving stiffly or wincing as he tried to brave his way through the pain of another beating. Carol would wordlessly sneak into the bathroom, grabbing up what she would need to doctor his wounds. She was becoming quite the little nurse to Daryl.

He would always sit quietly on her bed, his shirt pulled up so that she could get to the bleeding wounds. Sometimes they weren't that bad and she could get away with just cleaning them and holding pressure against the wound to stop the bleeding. Other times though, it was bad. She learned quickly to keep her reactions to herself though because even though Daryl was tough, he didn't like to think people pitied him. It was a wordless exchange between them, these times that she spent doctoring him. Somehow what had become one night of doctoring had turned into him coming to her every time. She didn't mind though and she wanted to help her best friend in the only way she knew how.

He begged her to keep quiet about those times and even though Carol wanted to run to her Daddy, who in her opinion could fix anything, she did as requested and kept it to herself. It was hard though, especially on the bad nights and she found herself growing to hate the man who had given birth to Daryl even though she never thought she could hate someone. She knew now that that was why Daryl and Merle always referred to the man as Hank and never Dad. Carol had never known families like that, growing up with two parents who loved each other so deeply. Her Daddy had instilled in a sense of compassion in her at an early age though and she couldn't stand to see another suffer.

She accepted Daryl's hand at the top of the ladder and he helped her up into the tree house. She surveyed the inside, impressed at the fact that he had built something so awesome. Crossing over to the window, she looked out into the forest and then turned to smile at Daryl.

"This is awesome!" She cried and he smiled then, letting out a relieved breath.

"Thanks," He blushed a little and dipped his head to hide it. Clearing his throat he moved around the room, inspecting everything again. "I figure I can get a sleepin' bag ta bring out here. Spend tha night in tha woods when I need ta get away." He didn't need to explain what he needed to get away from. She understood perfectly.

"It's like your own little apartment or something!" Carol said.

Daryl nodded, the excitement showing in his face. "Yeah. Ain't gonna tell Merle though," He added with a pointed look at her.

"Okay," Carol replied. "I won't say anything."

She understood his hesitation to tell his brother. She had gotten to know Merle a lot more over the past few months and he wasn't the type to be amazed over a tree house. It would seem petty and girlish to him, whereas to Daryl and Carol it was a place they could call their own. Merle wasn't affectionate either and Carol was beginning to realize that it was some sort of Dixon trait. He was nice to her for the most part, even though he had taken to calling her "mouse" on occasion just to get on her nerves. She thought that a part of him was secretly glad that his brother had a friend though, even if she was a girl. He was constantly nagging Daryl, but Carol could see that he really cared for his brother despite his harsh way of showing it.

Merle was fixing to turn eighteen soon though and Daryl had told her that he had plans to join the military. Daryl acted like he didn't care, but Carol could tell that he did. She was worried about what would happen to her friend without his brother there to act as buffer sometimes. Sometimes she thought that her Daddy knew about Daryl the way he stared at him, but she wasn't sure because he never said anything to her about it.

"So," Daryl said as he perched himself on the ledge of the window, "What ya gonna get yerself for Christmas with ya money?" He asked.

Carol had ended up winning the art show, much to Daryl's delight and her amazement. When they had announced her as winner, she hadn't been able to believe that it was true. She couldn't wait to tell Daryl and when she finally got home to tell him, he was just as excited as she was. When he asked to see what she had drawn for the contest, she wouldn't show him though. She hadn't ever thought that he would ask to see the picture and she had also never anticipated winning the contest either. She couldn't show Daryl because the picture she had drawn was of him. He had been out in the woods with her trailing behind him silently as he shot at squirrels with his bow. They had stopped after a while and he took a rag from his pocket to clean it while she pulled out her sketch pad and started to draw. He hadn't paid her any attention because she often brought her pad along with her wherever she went in case inspiration struck. Carol remembered the image he presented clearly. He had been leaning with his back against a tree, his feet planted firmly on the ground, and his tongue peeking out between his lips as he concentrated on cleaning the bow. She had captured the basic outline with her pencil, gliding the lead tip frantically over the paper. What she hadn't finished, she had gone back and later drawn from memory.

"I'm not sure yet. Mama is going to take me to town after Thanksgiving to hit the sales," She replied.

She felt bad lying to him, but she couldn't tell him what she really planned to do with the money. She had been shopping around every time they went to town and when she had spotted it, she had known that it was perfect for him. She was almost brimming with excitement at the thought of being able to give it to him and it was killing her not to blurt it out, but she kept quiet about it, only telling her Mama. Her Mama had stopped what she was doing and looked at her daughter thoughtfully. She asked Carol if she was sure and Carol nodded that she was indeed sure. She had everything she really needed so why not spend it on someone else? Her Mama had grabbed Carol in a hug, knocking the breath out of her with the force of it as tears shone in her eyes. Mama had been so proud of her that day and it made Carol feel good inside when she thought about it.

Daryl nodded, "Don't blow it all in one place," He joked.

Carol laughed, "Where's the fun in that?"

He shook his head at her, his expression amused as he turned to look out of the window. She didn't ask him what he had asked for for Christmas. She already knew that Hank wasn't likely to get either him or Merle anything. It made her sad to think about it, but she forced herself to think about her gift to him instead and it brightened her mood again.

"Oh," She said suddenly, "Daddy wanted me to invite your family over for Thanksgiving dinner."

Daryl's shoulders tensed and he turned to glance at her over his shoulder, "Hank too?" He asked.

Carol nodded, knowing her Daddy would never leave him out. Even though Hank was an asshole, her Daddy would still try and be nice to him, hoping that it might rub off some. _Kill them with kindness_, he had once said to her. She had never understood it much until now.

"I'll let 'em know. He might not show though. Hope he don't," Daryl muttered. "Merle will prob'ly come though. If there's free food, his ass'll be there unless he's got somethin' lined up with some girl somewhere. Girl's is tha only thing that overrides food," Daryl said.

Carol snickered at that, "Well if they don't come, I'm sure Mama will send them a plate home with you," She offered.

Daryl shrugged, "Their loss."

"Ready to head back? I gotta be home for dinner," Carol said. "You coming to eat?"

It had become a ritual of sorts to have Daryl over for dinner and Carol estimated that he ate with them five days out of the week, give or take Hank's mood. They even took the liberty of setting a place for him at their table in anticipation that he would come over to eat. It had taken a while before he had started coming on his own though. She laughed to herself as she remembered how her Mama had gotten on him for thinking he had to have an invitation. _You're my daughter's best friend. You're family now,_ she had said. Daryl had seemed shocked, but ever since then he had popped up at dinnertime. Her Mama always gave him seconds even though he never asked for it and he would always clean his plate and thank her when he was done. Yes, her Mama had a soft spot for Daryl and Carol loved her Mama dearly.

Daryl shrugged in response to her question, "Reckon' so. Hank ain't home so ain't gotta worry 'bout his mouth."

"Where is he working now?"

"Some mill on tha other side o' town. It's a temporary position, but someone he knew got him in. Won't last. Soon as he gets some money he'll drink himself shitfaced an' lose it," Daryl said indifferently.

Carol grabbed for the ladder, but Daryl stopped her with his hand, "Lemme go down first. Don't need ya breakin' yer neck," He said.

Carol smiled and gestured for him to go. She waited until he reached the ground before she followed along behind him carefully. She felt relieved as her feet touched the ground. It hadn't been that bad, but she preferred the ground. They walked along silently, their strides mirroring the other as they made their way through the woods. Daryl held back branches for her to pass through and braced her with a steady hand as she tripped over a root that was sticking out of the ground. They had become so close that it was like second nature for them as they moved the silent, wounded, hunter with his guardian angel by his side.

...

**Review?**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hello again! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I enjoyed my time with my family! I've got another chapter for you and I would have had this out yesterday if not for random distractions and fanfiction messing up. I'm hoping that it's fixed for good this time! If all goes according to plan(and it never does) then I hope to have another chapter to this by tonight or this afternoon, depending on how busy I am. I do hope you enjoy it. **_

_**I did want to mention that if you've seen Red Canyon and you're into that kind of thing (because it's VERY different) then I've written a oneshot entitled, "Devil's Christmas". You should check it out, but ONLY if that's your thing. Mac is not for the faint of heart. **_

_**That being said, Enjoy! I look forward to hearing from you! :)**_

...

"Well, well, lookie at my lil' brotha all dressed up an' primpin' for his girlfriend!" Merle drawled as he leaned against the doorframe of Daryl's bedroom.

Daryl stuck up his middle finger, trying to ignore his brother's jabs, "She ain't my girlfriend," He muttered. "She's jus' a friend."

Merle sucked his teeth and smirked at Daryl, "Who jus' so happens ta be a girl, huh?"

Daryl rolled his eyes and fiddled with his shirt again. It was the nicest shirt he owned, which wasn't saying much. The navy blue button-up shirt was the only shirt he owned that he hadn't ripped the sleeves off of. It was the shirt that he reserved for special occasions and he figured this qualified as one of those times. He was nervous about having Hank and Merle over to Thanksgiving dinner with him at Carol's house. When the Dixons got together, tempers were likely to rise and topics of discussion weren't likely to be about anything appropriate. As Daryl wondered whether or not he should tuck his shirt in, he wished that Hank and his brother would magically disappear for the day. Carol's parents were nice people and he was worried that his family might be about to ruin that. Hank and Merle weren't the type of people that reigned in their manners for anyone, period.

Yesterday morning Daryl had found an eviction notice taped to their front door declaring that they had 30 days to vacate the property or their stuff would be thrown out. Daryl had left it taped to the door for Hank to find and last night he had noticed that it was gone. Daryl could only assume that Hank had been the one to take it down and he had been anticipating a big uproar about it, but so far there hadn't been any indication from Hank at all. Daryl had been skirting around the house, avoiding Hank as if he were a ticking time bomb waiting to explode at the slightest provocation. That was another reason to add to the growing list of why Daryl thought this whole thing was a bad idea.

"Ya ain't gotta go ya know. Thought ya was seein' someone new? Why ain'tcha with 'er?" Daryl tried once more as he glanced at his brother after finally just deciding to leave his shirt untucked.

Mere scowled, "Bitch is more frigid than tha fuckin' Arctic. Thought I had money ta buy 'er all these perty things," Merle scoffed. "Hell even if I _did_ have money like that, wouldn't be wastin' it on 'er. Ya give 'em an inch an' they'll take a fuckin' mile. You'd do well ta remember that lil' brotha."

Daryl wasn't exactly sure what Merle was referring to, but he just let him keep talking because it was easier to tune him out than to try and get him to shut up. Glancing at the clock on his bedside table and seeing that it was time to go, he just shook his head and gestured to the door, "Let's get this over with."

...

The dinner wasn't going quite as bad as Daryl had envisioned in his head and he was thankful for that. He was also nervous that at any time things could go very wrong and shit could hit the fan. Luckily, Merle and Hank were mostly quiet as they shoveled forkful after forkful of food into their mouths. Carol's mom had outdone herself this time. Daryl had never seen so much food in his entire life, including the food that magically appeared when someone died. Even then, there hadn't ever been this much and it hadn't been near as good. Sweet potato casserole, turkey, dressing, deviled eggs, green beans, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and more desserts than he could see covered every inch of the kitchen table and counter tops. For one crazy second Daryl wondered if more people had been invited that Carol hadn't told him about. But no one else had shown and most everyone was now working on their second plate of food.

Carol was mostly quiet next to him, but occasionally he would catch her looking over at him. Whenever he would turn his head though, she would look away quickly. He wondered what was up with that, but he didn't say anything at the table. He was dreading telling her about the eviction notice later since he hadn't told her yet. He wasn't certain about having to move, but it was more than likely going to happen. Daryl had lived through it too many times to count. It was the same cycle each time and usually he never cared much, but this time was different. This time he had actually made himself a friend.

"So Merle, I hear you're going into the military?" Richard asked him.

Merle nodded in between bites of food and sucked tidbits from his fingers before replying, "Ya heard right."

Richard nodded, clearly expecting more but Merle wasn't biting. "That's a very honorable thing to do," Richard commented.

Hank scoffed from his place across the table, "Don't let him fool ya. Ain't doin' the shit to be honorable. He's doin' it cause if he don't he's likely to end up in prison or dead in a gutter somewhere."

Daryl choked slightly on his glass of tea. Well the silence had definitely been short-lived. He wondered if he could slip out back with Carol and make a run for the treehouse. His eyes shifted to the door and back, judging the distance and wondering if Carol would actually go along with it.

Merle sneered at Hank's comment, but wisely kept his mouth shut. It was Sherry who glanced at Hank with a frown, "Don't you dare dismiss that as anything less than honorable," She began and Daryl rubbed his palms, glancing at Carol as he readied himself to ditch with or without her. "It takes a strong man to go into the military these days with all that talk about war and people getting killed. Whatever his reasons for going, he should be very proud of himself. Not everyone who goes in comes back out. Shame on you," Sherry stated.

Daryl admired the way Carol's Mama could chastise someone in such a way that you almost didn't feel like you were being reprimanded. She was sweet about it and it was a little confusing to Daryl who wasn't used to that kind of thing.

Hank paused with his fork halfway to his mouth and stared at the woman. To Sherry's credit, she stared right back with that look of no nonsense that Daryl had seen her use on Carol's Dad and Carol herself. This was going to be bad, he could feel it. Hank wasn't likely to take this well. Silence ensued around the table as everyone stared at the two of them and Daryl had just pushed his chair back, grabbing Carol's hand when Hank began to laugh. He placed his fork onto his plate and leaned back in his chair, laughing loudly.

Daryl couldn't remember the last time he had seen Hank laugh. Actually when he thought back to it, he didn't think he had _ever_ seen Hank laugh period. Daryl exchanged a glance with Merle, who looked every bit as confused as he was sure he himself looked. He was so stunned that he didn't even realize that he was still holding Carol's hand.

Sherry smiled at Hank and her husband warmly. Hank wiped at the corner of his eye as he picked his fork back up again.

"You got yerself a firecracker here Richard," Hank began. "Just reminded me somethin' strong o' Rachel; the boy's mama. She used ta give me hell like that," Hank trailed off, lost in some sort of memory that Daryl likely knew nothing about.

Daryl and Merle both sat in stunned silence. Daryl was pretty sure that Merle was thinking the same thing that he was. They had never heard Hank talk about their mama like that before. It had to be the nicest way he had ever referred to the woman in Daryl's lifetime.

Sherry patted Hank's hand and she stood to slice him a piece of pie, "I'm sure she was a special woman," She commented as she placed the plate beside Hank. Hank merely grunted his thanks, choosing to remain quiet about that comment.

"Would anyone else like some pie? Carol? Daryl?" Sherry asked them.

It was then that Daryl realized he was still holding onto Carol's hand and he quickly let go and nodded to her mama. "Yes'm," He said.

"Yes please Mama," Carol replied from next to him.

Daryl rubbed his sweaty palm against his pants and snuck a glance at Carol. She was pushing her food around her plate, her face bright red. Daryl's hand tingled from where they had touched for so long. It wasn't that he didn't like Carol, but he felt awkward holding her hand like that. It had felt too intimate for them and Carol was his friend not his girlfriend. Daryl sighed as he muttered his thanks at the slice of pie. The end of this dinner just wasn't coming soon enough. Somehow he wished that Hank had shown his ass instead of this. That would have been something Daryl was at least used to.

….

Daryl let the arrow fly from the bow, sinking it into the tree across the woods soundly. He was beginning to relax now that he and Carol were headed into the familiar territory of the woods. Carol had brought along her sketchpad and Daryl was shooting arrows at random targets, trying to find the right way to tell her they might be moving. Except every time he looked at her, the way her face was wrinkled in concentration, he chickened out. Maybe it was because he had had enough emotion during dinner or maybe because he wanted to hold out hope that it wouldn't happen. Either way, he really didn't want to tell her so he decided to keep it to himself for a little while longer. Maybe a miracle would happen. He snorted to himself, chastising himself in his head for thinking dumb shit.

Carol glanced over at him, "What's wrong? You've been quiet since dinner," She said.

Daryl shrugged, "Ain't felt like talkin' much I guess," He kicked at the sticks underneath his feet with his worn out boots.

"Oh," Carol said. She tapped her pencil on her pad like she was thinking hard about something. "Why did you grab my hand?" She blurted.

Daryl's head snapped up to lock eyes with her. He felt a blush creeping over him and he tugged at the collar of his shirt, "Was gonna run tha hell outta there. Thought Hank was gonna take a bite out yer Ma for sure," Daryl replied.

Carol nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah. He did really well though. Do you think he'll be mad later?"

Daryl shrugged again. He honestly didn't know with Hank. The man's moods were all over the place and could change in an instant depending on the environment around him.

"Can't ever tell," Daryl replied.

Carol resumed drawing and he collected his arrows before walking back over to stand near her so that he could shoot some more. Time passed by in a comfortable silence and Daryl was glad for the reprieve after the nerve wrecking Thanksgiving dinner.

"You can always come over to my place," Carol offered suddenly.

Daryl glanced over at her. She hadn't ever offered that up as an option before. It was always assumed that after those first couple of times of him appearing that she was okay with it. He tilted his head to the side, staring at her. Something seemed different, but she wasn't looking at him so he couldn't tell. She was seemingly focused on her drawing and after a minute he shrugged the feeling off.

Finally Carol looked up, "I mean, if Hank rages, you know. You can always come over," She repeated.

Daryl let another arrow fly, sending a squirrel running for cover. A glance at her told him that she was waiting on some sort of reply.

He rolled his eyes where she couldn't see, "Yeah. There's always that," He replied softly.

There _was_ always that. The question was for how much longer?

...

**Review? :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone! I did it! I managed to get another chapter out for you today! YES! Though after reading it, I'm not so sure how it will be received. I'll just let you get on with it and I'll have more notes at the end. Enjoy. **

...

Daryl wasn't sure what woke him up, but something jarred him from his sleep and he blinked, rolling over to glance at the clock beside his bed. Instead of the glowing red numbers, he was met with only darkness. Frowning he rubbed his eyes and sat up in the bed. The house was eerily quiet; not even the hum from the old refrigerator could be heard like usual. He leaned over, knowing that it was useless and flicked the switch on his lamp, getting nothing in return for his efforts. It was apparent that Hank had forgone paying the electric bill. It was just as well anyway. Today was their last day before they would have to have their things moved out of the house and Daryl still hadn't told Carol.

He knew that it was wrong and that he should have told her by now, but things kept getting in the way. Now he was forced with having to tell her on today of all days.

Christmas day.

He sighed and stood up to shuffle to the bathroom and relieve himself. On his way back, he glanced in Merle's bedroom to see him sprawled out across his bed, fully dressed and snoring. Merle had come home late last night or early this morning depending on how you looked at it, drunk as a skunk. Daryl was thoroughly surprised he had even made it to his bed before collapsing. Snores coming from Hank's room let Daryl know that the man was still sleeping as well. Seeing it as his chance to get out while he could, he hurriedly pulled on his clothing and grabbed his bow before slipping out of the house.

There was a layer of frost on the ground and Daryl glanced over at Carol's house as his stomach grumbled loudly. He debated on stopping over there before heading out to the woods, but he forced himself to keep going. It was Christmas morning and he knew that Carol's family was likely to be opening gifts right now and he didn't want to intrude on that. It didn't make him feel sad that he didn't have any of that for himself. The only thing he needed was to be able to go into the woods whenever his heart desired and just _be_.

The crisp, cold, air cleansed his lungs and slowly brought his body to alertness. He slid through the brush silent as always, the only sounds coming from random sticks as they broke off from the weight of the frost and fell to the ground around him. Several squirrels darted across his path, but he wasn't particularly interested in them at the moment. He had other things on his mind. After climbing up the ladder into the tree house he moved over to the corner and removed a piece of wood, pulling something from inside out with his hands.

Carol's Christmas present.

He turned the wooden figure over and over in his hands, inspecting it one last time. It had taken him nearly three weeks to get it done and now he was wondering if it might be stupid. He had searched for hours for the right piece of driftwood to carve, but now he was wondering if he should give it to her. It hadn't cost him anything to make it but time. He rubbed his fingers over the smooth surface of it before sticking it in his pocket for safekeeping. Settling down against the wall, he stretched out his legs and eventually fell into a light slumber.

...

"Daryl, are you up here?" Carol called from the ground beneath the tree house.

Her teeth were chattering and she felt like her toes might fall off once she got back to the warmth of her house finally. She wanted to give Daryl his present though and nobody had answered the door at his house. She knew he had to be up there, but there was no way she was going to be able to get up that ladder with his gift in hand. The box she had wrapped it in was way too heavy and big for that. Finally she heard shuffling and his head appeared above the ladder.

"Sorry. Feel sleep," He called down.

"Come down here. I want to give you your gift!" She shouted.

He grunted something that she couldn't make out and his head disappeared from view. A few minutes later she could see the bottoms of his boots as he made his way down the ladder towards her. Ditching the last few rungs of the ladder, he jumped to the ground, landing stealthily on his feet. He eyed the box warily as he walked over to her.

"That's a big box," He commented.

Carol nodded nervously. She really hoped that he liked the gift that she had picked for him. She knew he would love it, but part of her was worried that he might not accept it. It had been somewhat expensive, but completely worth it in her opinion. After all, if he hadn't encouraged her to enter the art show then she never would have won the money. She owed it to him in a way.

"Open it," She gestured.

Carol pushed the box towards him and he kneeled on the ground to tear at the wrapping paper. Using his pocket knife he cut the tape from the cardboard box and pulled back the flaps to look inside. He paused as he saw it and Carol held her breath, not being able to read his blank expression. After what seemed like an eternity, he lifted out the brand new crossbow, cradling it gingerly in his arms as if it might break. Finally he looked up at Carol who was having trouble keeping still not knowing how he would react to it.

"This had ta have cost a small fortune," Daryl said finally.

Carol shrugged. Daryl didn't need to know specifics. He would _definitely _give it back if he knew how much she had spent.

"It was on sale," She said nonchalantly.

Daryl quirked a brow at her and she knew he didn't believe her, but he didn't question her further. He kept running his fingers over the bow and she smiled to herself, knowing that he was in love with it.

"I can't take it," He said abruptly as he tried to fit it back in the box which Carol kicked out of the way with her foot.

"Yes you can and you better because they won't let me return it," She lied. "So if you don't take it, I'll have spent my money for nothing."

Daryl sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Thanks," He mumbled.

Carol beamed at him, "Shoot it," She coaxed.

Daryl grabbed an arrow and set the bow up as if he had been using it all his life instead of seeing it for the first time. He lifted the bow, lining up a shot and pressed the trigger. The arrow sank into a nearby tree with a loud thwack and Daryl raised his brows.

"So is it a good one?" Carol asked.

Daryl nodded, still staring at the arrow in the tree, "Yeah. It's good," He replied.

She clapped her hands in excitement, "Thank goodness! I just knew I had to get it for you the first time I saw it. I was so nervous you would hate it though," She rambled on and on.

Daryl placed the crossbow over his back using the shoulder strap and stuck his hands in his pockets. She glanced at him and saw that he was clearly nervous about something so she paused in midsentence, looking him over carefully.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

Daryl cleared his throat, "I, uh...I gotcha somethin' too," He pressed on when Carol smiled. "It ain't much so don't getcha hopes up or nothin'. Jus' thought ya might like it is all."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out something so tiny that Carol couldn't tell what it was. He grabbed her hand and placed it onto her palm where she finally got a good look at it. It took her breath away and she held it up to study it carefully. She had always known that Daryl was good with his hands, the proof of that being the tree house that still stood strong next to them. But _this_, this was something more. This had taken a whole different level of skill and concentration.

She stood the tiny deer upright on the palm of her hand and looked at it from all angles. To say that it had probably taken him a while would be an understatement. She was sure that it must have taken him forever.

"Wow," She breathed in awe.

"I know it ain't much o' nothin' compared ta yer gift. I wish I coulda gotcha somethin' more," He commented.

Carol shook her head, "No. It's perfect! I've never seen anything so perfectly crafted in my life. I didn't know you were artistic as well!" She smiled at him.

Daryl blushed and waved her compliment away, "I got somethin' else ta tell ya. I shoulda told ya a while back, but I jus' never seemed ta find tha right time."

Carol glanced at him, halfway paying him any attention as she cooed over her wooden deer. Daryl cleared his throat and surged onward.

"We gotta move. If we ain't out by tomorrow afternoon, they gonna throw all our stuff out. Got us an eviction notice," He said.

Carol's brain was slightly slow to process those words, but when she finally did she glanced over at him sharply.

"You're moving?" She asked.

Daryl nodded, "Guess so."

"But I don't understand. Why didn't you tell me before? Where are you going to move to? How long have you known about this?" Carol fired out questions rapidly, advancing on Daryl with her hands on her hips.

Daryl took several steps back looking flustered, "I...I tried ta tell ya before, but I jus' couldn't seem ta get it out. I don't know where we movin' to. Found out tha day before Thanksgiving," He admitted at last.

Carol fought back several emotions that threatened to consume her. She would not cry in front of Daryl, she told herself. She blinked rapidly several times to ward off the tears that threatened to spill. Her best friend was moving. He hadn't even been in the house for one year yet and he was already leaving. She had been looking forward to being in the same school as Daryl next year, but she doubted that that would happen now. It wasn't fair.

"I don't understand. Are you sure you have to move? I mean maybe Hank ca-"

Daryl cut her off with a shake of the head, "He ain't. Hank ain't worked in over a week. Electricity was shut off this mornin'," Daryl replied.

Carol sucked in a deep breath, trying to get her emotions under control. She was angry now, angry that Daryl had kept this from her until the last minute.

"Why didn't you tell me? I don't understand! You knew and you kept it to yourself this entire time. Maybe...maybe I could have figured out a way to help if yo-"

"It wouldn't have made a difference," Daryl's face took on a pained expression.

As the tears welled up and began to spill out of her eyes Carol turned and took off running through the woods. Daryl called out after her, but she never slowed. She ran and ran, trying to outrun her tears until she finally had to stop and catch her breath. Her chest felt tight and she bent her head over like Daryl had showed her once and took several deep breaths. She wiped at her tears in frustration. It was stupid and she was stupid. Stupid for crying over something that she couldn't change. She began to walk blindly in the woods towards her house. She needed time to think and she couldn't do that while looking at him. It was only when she reached the back door to her house that she realized something. She had dropped the deer.

...

**Yikes, this was hard to write! I'm getting all teary over here. Now I need to go write something fluffy or read something fluffy to get my emotions under control here. Dare I ask for a review?**


	7. Chapter 7

**This was a hard one to right and my emotions were all over the place with this chapter. I kept it fairly average length for a reason and the next chapter will have a time jump that I will explain in my Author's Note. I am hoping to get another update out today because I'll be busy celebrating New Year's with my family later. I hope those of you who are celebrating choose to do so safely. **

**Here's to a New Year! Let's make it count! ;)**

...

Daryl stuffed all of his clothing into a cardboard box, not even bothering to fold it before tossing the box to the floor with the others.

Four boxes.

Four boxes held the entire contents of Daryl's childhood such that it was. He didn't have much to speak of. Clothing, a few books, a model car, and various other odds and ends that he had been fortunate enough not to lose whenever they had moved throughout the years. It was hard to own much really when you never knew if you were going to have to up and leave your home at a moment's notice. He stared at the box of clothing that held his crossbow tucked safely inside of it. Neither Merle nor Hank knew about the crossbow that Carol had given him and if he had his way of it, they never would. Merle would undoubtedly tease him about it, but Hank, Hank would likely take it and try to sell it for beer money or something else equally as stupid.

He knew he didn't have long before Hank would be yelling at them to pull out so Daryl had hurried through packing mostly everything the night before, wanting a few minutes to say goodbye to Carol. He hadn't seen her since she had run from him. He wasn't even sure that she would see him, but he was going to try. Slipping on his jacket, he grabbed a couple of boxes to take to the truck, setting them down on the bed of the rusty pickup before heading toward Carol's house. He was halfway there before Carol's Dad, Richard, walked outside.

"Daryl," Richard said in surprise. "I was just headed over to your place. Was going to see if your Dad needed a hand."

Daryl cringed at the word "Dad". Hank wasn't any more his Dad than Merle was a virgin, but he kept the thought to himself and jerked his head towards the house.

"Hank's in there somewhere. Arguin' as usual," He said.

Richard nodded, "Carol's in her room. Sherry's in the kitchen so go on in there and say a few words. She's been asking for you."

Daryl blew out a breath and trudged up the steps, feeling weird about entering without knocking, but doing so anyway. Sherry glanced up as he entered and she rushed him, nearly squeezing the breath from his lungs with her hug.

"Oh baby," She cooed. "I wish y'all didn't have to go. Carol's been beside herself. Won't hardly come out of her room for anything. I was hoping you could take these cookies I baked to her and see if you couldn't get her to eat one," She handed him a plate, the smell of chocolate chip cookies assaulting his nose.

"Okay," Daryl replied.

She smiled at him, "Go on now. I'm making you up some goodies for the road so you stop back by here and see me on your way out," She warned.

He nodded and disappeared through the house, making his way silently to Carol's bedroom. He knocked on the door, but he didn't get a response. Balancing the plate on one hand he turned the knob, easing the door open to give her plenty of time to notice his entrance.

"Carol?" He said as he peered around the door.

She was sitting on her bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, and her sketchpad thrown to the floor. She didn't look up at the sound of his voice, but she didn't tell him to leave either. He shouldered the door closed behind him and moved to set the plate of cookies on the table by her bed. He sat down on the edge, his eyes trained on the comforter of her bed.

"I ain't got much time," He began. "I know ya mad at me, but I wanted ta tell ya bye."

Carol sniffed and wiped at her reddened eyes, "I'm not mad at you," She said softly.

Daryl smirked, trying to lighten the mood, "Sure seemed like it yesterday," He commented.

"I'm not," She insisted. "I'm just mad in general. I don't want you to go. Who will I talk to? What about our treehouse?"

Daryl swallowed. There was a lump in his throat and he wasn't sure where it was coming from, but it was bugging him that it wouldn't seem to go away.

"I can call ya. Maybe we'll get a phone. As for tha treehouse...well I guess ya gonna hafta look after it for me."

Carol nodded, her head hanging low on her shoulders as she fidgeted with the blankets. Daryl nudged the plate of cookies at her, his stomach grumbling as the smells invaded his nose again.

"Yer mama wants ya to eat some o' these cookies. Said ya ain't been eatin' much," He said.

She shook her head, "I don't want any."

He sighed, hearing Hank's booming voice from outside carry through the window in her bedroom. He knew if he didn't hurry this up that he would pay for it later somehow.

"I gotta go," He said.

Carol still didn't look at him, "Okay," She whispered solemnly. "Bye Daryl."

He sat there a moment longer, a little unsure what to do and then he exited the bedroom, making his way slowly back to the kitchen. Carol's mom thrust several bags of goodies into his hands as soon as he entered.

"I put them in smaller bags so you can stick them in your pockets," She said with a wink. She glanced towards the rear of the house, "How's our girl?"

He shook his head, "She ain't talkin' much. Mad at me I think," He muttered.

Sherry's face fell, "Oh sweetheart, she ain't mad at you! You're that girl's best friend. I've never seen her take to anybody like I have you. She's just emotional, but she'll come out of it. You call us if you get a chance and tell us where you end up so maybe we can visit, okay?"

Daryl nodded, "Yes'm," He replied. He heard Hank's loud drawl yelling his name and he rolled his eyes. "Well I better get goin'. Thanks for tha stuff an' for bein' so nice," He said softly.

He left the house, spotting Carol's Dad and Hank talking at the cab of the pickup. Merle was placing a box into the bed of his own truck and whistled for Daryl, waving him over. Daryl ignored him, choosing to continue along at his own pace instead. Maybe he would get lucky and they would leave him behind. He could live in the treehouse and eat at Carol's house during mealtimes. The thought was very tempting. He was halfway to the truck, intending to ride with Merle, when he heard the door to Carol's house slam shut and her running footsteps behind him.

"Wait! Daryl!" She shouted as she ran across the yard, closing the gap between them.

Daryl turned, waiting for her to catch up. She didn't stop as she drew near and Daryl braced himself for the impact. Carol ran into his chest, nearly knocking the breath from his lungs as she wrapped her little arms around his middle. His face grew red because he knew Hank and Merle were watching. He was sure to catch hell about this little display later, but he couldn't bear to push her away from him.

"I'm sorry Daryl," Carol whispered against his chest, her voice slightly muffled by the material of his shirt. "I'm sorry I ran," She lifted her head to look at him. "I'm gonna miss you. Please don't forget me," She whispered.

He shook his head, "I won't."

Carol nodded quickly, "Will you try to call and let me know where you move to?"

"I'll try. Pro'bly be at a motel or somethin' for a few days," He told her.

At least, he hoped they would be at a motel. More than likely he figured they would end up sleeping in the truck somewhere. It wouldn't have been the first time. Richard walked over, placing a hand on Carol's shoulder.

"It's time for him to go now honey," He said gently. Carol nodded, but she still didn't move.

She turned to her dad, "Can you give us a minute?"

Richard raised a brow, but then nodded, stepping backwards and walking towards their house. Carol reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded up piece of paper which she handed to him. He glanced down at it curiously, beginning to unfold it.

Carol's hand shot out, stopping his movements, "No! Don't open it now," She muttered quickly. "Save it for later."

Daryl was confused about her reasons, but he shrugged and tucked the paper safely into his back pocket like she had asked.

"Daryl! Get yer skinny ass in tha damn truck!" Hank yelled from his truck window.

"Gotta go," Daryl said. He backed slowly away from her, "Bye Carol."

She remained standing in the same place. Raising her hand, she gave a little wave, "Bye Daryl," She replied softly.

He slid into the truck, avoiding Merle's gaze as he did so. He almost felt like he wanted to cry, but Dixons didn't cry so he kept everything bottled inside of him.

"Well hell. If'n ya wantin' ta wave bye ta her, I reckon' I ain't gonna rag yer ass. Jus' make it quick," Merle muttered.

Daryl shot him a look, taken off guard by the comment. He climbed to his knees in the seat, turning to stare out of the back glass as Merle pulled out behind Hank. He stared at Carol, raising his hand up slightly, his eyes never leaving her as they drove away. Before he lost her from view, he saw her turn and run towards the woods, disappearing from his sight as he rounded the corner. He turned back around in his seat, slipping his seatbelt on. Merle cranked up the radio, loud rock music pouring through the speakers. Daryl fingered the piece of paper in his pocket, slipping it out where Merle couldn't see. Glancing at Merle and seeing that he was preoccupied with watching the road, he opened it. His eyes widened as he stared down at a picture of himself fiddling with his crossbow. It was one she must have drawn on one of their many treks through the forest and she had captured him perfectly. He smiled softly and refolded it, tucking it safely back into his pocket.

...

Carol ran as fast as her short legs would take her, the tears whipping off of her face as the brisk air cut stung her rosey cheeks. She stopped as soon as she entered the woods, her eyes scanning the ground frantically. She began to retrace her steps from yesterday, her breath coming out in short pants. Her best friend was gone and who knew if she would ever get to see him again. She had to find that deer. Salty tears dribbled into the corner of her mouth and she angrily swiped her sleeve across her face. Letting out a sound of frustration she stopped at the bottom of the ladder that led to the treehouse. Looking up at the entrance she could almost see Daryl's head poking out at her, his crooked grin as he yelled at her to hurry up. Slowly she climbed the ladder and stood there, looking out into the trees. The tears still streaked down her cheeks, but she no longer felt them anymore. She felt numb and it felt like a bad dream.

Sliding against the wooden wall in the corner, she dropped down to her butt, leaning her head back against the wall. Daryl was the only one that had understood her. He had never questioned her about her drawings and she hadn't questioned him about hunting. Carol drew in a ragged breath that made her chest ache. She wasn't sure why she felt this way. It wasn't as if he was gone forever, but somehow it felt like he was. She wondered who would clean his wounds now. Would Hank beat him again later? A muffled sob escaped her lips and she closed her eyes, finally drifting off into a restless sleep, hoping that when she finally woke up it would all be over.

...

***Deep Breath* Review?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi again! I wanted to get this out yesterday, but it just didn't happen that way. Thanks for hanging in there with me through that last chapter. That was a tough one! I've got a time jump here of 8 years. So that puts Carol at the age of 19 and Daryl at the age of 21. I know someone had asked in a review if I could remind everyone how old they both were. Just as a reminder as well, their ages are listed in the summary for this fic. So I'll let everyone get on with it then and I look forward to hearing from you! **

****Eight years later...**

...

"Sorry I'm late Rachel," Carol told the other waitress as she hurried behind the bar, tying her apron around her waist as she went. "We had an exam in my last class and it was really tough."

Rachel gave her a smile as she served a drink to one of the patrons sitting at the bar, "I'm sure you passed it just like all the others honey," She said.

Carol sighed as she gathered her shoulder length strands of hair together and wrapped a rubber band around it to keep them out of her face, "I hope so."

Carol was attending the local community college, working her ass off in the hopes of obtaining her nursing degree one day. She had her own apartment that was close enough that she could walk to classes and to work. She didn't own a car nor did she have the money to buy one, but she didn't really need one right now so that fact didn't bother her.

Things had been hard for her since her parents had gotten killed in a car accident two years ago when their car had slid off the road during a snowstorm causing it to veer into oncoming traffic. Both of her parents had died instantly and to this day Carol still had nightmares about it all. She had been devastated and she almost hadn't graduated from high school. Somehow she had managed to pull herself together and make it through, even though it had been tough. She had lost the house, not having been able to afford the mortgage payments on her own and her parents hadn't had any life insurance to speak of. She was now utterly alone in this world and she was still trying to come to terms with that. With the help of financial aid, she had managed to get herself an apartment and she was working hard to maintain a high GPA so that she could continue to receive the aid. Each passing day made it a little easier to breathe, a little easier to cope with her loss. She would never forget though, ever.

Working at the local pub wasn't her ideal job, but it helped pay the bills and on some days she did really well there with tips. The hours were also flexible and her manager worked around her schedule at the college so that helped out a lot. She also enjoyed the people that she worked with.

"How's it been tonight?" Carol asked Rachel as she began to tidy up their workstation.

Rachel refilled a beer for a customer and then turned to her, leaning against the bar with her arms crossed, "Pretty slow. I'm probably gonna head out early if it keeps this up. I'm beat."

Carol looked at her friend with sympathy. She looked exhausted and Carol felt bad for her. Rachel worked two jobs, one at the local Whole Foods grocery store and the other here at the pub. She also had a toddler and was trying to raise the little boy on her own. From what Carol had heard, the father had literally disappeared right after Rachel had found out that she was pregnant.

"You work this morning too?" Carol asked her.

Rachel nodded, "Yeah." She rubbed her temples. "I don't know how much longer I can do this, ya know? I need a good paying job and one where I can be at home with my son more than I am now. He's usually asleep by the time I get home."

Carol squeezed her shoulder in sympathy, "I'll keep my ears peeled and let you know if I hear of anything."

Rachel nodded and Carol's attention was diverted to the entrance of the bar as several guys entered. Waiting on them to select a table, Carol grabbed her pad and headed over to them.

"Hi, welcome to O'Kelley's. What can I get for you?" She asked.

"How about four shots of your best whiskey and a pitcher of beer?" One of the guys asked.

Carol nodded and scribbled on her pad, "Anything else?"

The guy smiled at her, revealing a row of pearly white teeth, "Your number would be nice too."

Carol smiled back, but shook her head, "I don't date."

"Damn shame. Guess that will be all then."

Carol nodded and headed back to the bar, smiling and shaking her head to herself as she heard the guy's friends rag him about not getting her number. It wasn't entirely true that Carol didn't date, but it may as well have been. She hadn't met anyone she was even remotely interested in and it wasn't like she even had time for a boyfriend. Life kept her busy and she was fine with that.

…...

Carol yawned as she glanced at the clock again. Rachel had been right when she had said it was a slow night. Carol had urged the woman to leave a couple of hours ago, declaring that she could handle the rest of the night on her own. The last hour had been dragging though and there were about four people still lingering inside of the bar. Carol had her sketchpad out at the end of the bar and she had been aimlessly sketching the interior of the bar while she waited on the time to pass. Leaning forward on her elbow as she applied shadow to the drawing, she felt someone's stare and looked up to see a guy standing right near her shoulder, his eyes on her drawing. Carol instantly stood, shifting some papers aside to cover her art.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be rude," He said apologetically.

Carol offered him a smile, "It's okay. I'm just really weird about my drawings. I don't really like for people to look at them," She explained.

He nodded, "That's a shame. It's really good. I'm Rick by the way."

He offered out his hand to her and Carol shook it, her eyes scanning the bar to see if anyone needed anything.

"Thanks. Carol."

"It's nice to meet you Carol. You an art student?" He gestured to the pad again.

Carol blushed and shook her head, "No, nothing like that. I'm taking nursing at Tech," She replied.

Rick slid onto the bar stool, running a hand through his short hair. Carol studied him, wondering how she hadn't noticed him before. He was kind of handsome in a rugged sort of way with dark hair and blue eyes. He had an easy sort of smile and she found herself drawn to him in a way.

"Are you a student?" She asked curiously as she picked up a rag to wipe at the counter behind the bar.

He nodded, "I'm taking criminal justice at the college. Hope to be a cop someday."

"Good luck with that," She replied.

He chuckled, "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

Carol smiled at him, "That's a dangerous line of work. Especially in the city from what I hear."

"I think I can handle it," He tilted his head to the side, staring at her with a small smile playing on his lips.

Carol blushed, feeling exposed under his stare, but not in an uncomfortable sort of way. She cleared her throat, stacking up several glasses to dry on a rack. Moving away from Rick to accept money from two customers for their tab, she thanked them and noticed it was down to Rick and one other customer who was making his way over to the bar to hand her some money.

"Keep the change," The older man insisted and nodded at her as he left the bar.

Carol keyed in the amounts to the register and pocketed her tips for the night before making her way around the bar, collecting up several odd glasses that had been left sitting on tables. She jumped as Rick took the glasses from her hands.

"Go ahead and wipe the tables down. I'll set these on the bar for you," He said before she could protest.

Carol was tired so she simply nodded and accepted the help, wiping down the tables quickly. Glancing at the clock again, she turned the lock on the door so that no one else could come in. She grabbed the glasses that Rick had set down on the bar and carried them to the back. Coming back up to the front, she noticed that Rick was standing by the register, counting out several bills. He handed them to her as she walked up. Carol rang him up, frowning as she counted the money.

"There's an extra twenty in here. Here," She tried to pass it back to him.

He shook his head, backing away and holding up his hands. "Nope. That's yours," He replied.

Carol stared down at the twenty dollar bill, appreciative of the gesture, but wary at the same time.

"Please. It's too much. I can't accept it," She shoved the bill towards him again.

He chuckled, gifting her with another smile, "What is it with women and accepting compliments?" He asked in a teasing voice.

Carol felt the smile creep over her face. He was kind of charming in a way, but she wasn't looking for a relationship and this felt too much like he was flirting with her. The last thing she wanted to do was to encourage him in any way.

"I can't possibly accept this," Carol insisted.

"I don't want it back," Rick replied.

She sighed, "It's not that I'm not flattered because I really am, but usually when a man tips a woman this much he wants something in return."

"I don't want anything in return Carol. I'm just trying to tip a beautiful woman, nothing more and nothing less. You were nice to me and I appreciated it. It's been a long day," He replied.

Carol finally relented, knowing that she could always use the extra money and she stuck it into her pocket. Coming from behind the counter she walked over to the door, unlocking it so that he could leave.

"Throwing me out?" He asked teasingly.

Carol smiled softly, "You're something else. It's closing time and I've got an early class in the morning," She said.

He nodded, "Okay. Maybe I'll see you around then?"

"Maybe."

"I'll take what I can get," Rick tipped his head at her as he walked through the door. "Goodnight Carol."

Carol shook her head, "Goodnight Rick," She replied.

Closing the door she locked it, leaning against it for a few moments. She had to admit it was nice talking to a guy without feeling pressured to have sex. She had had more than her share of losers trying to hit on her in hopes of hooking up later. She just wasn't interested in those guys. Most were immature and just looking for a good time.

Rounding the bar she grabbed her sketchpad, flipping to the last page where she stared down at a drawing that she had drawn some time ago. Running her fingers over the drawing she sighed. She could really use a friend right now, someone who understood what she was going through, someone who didn't judge her but accepted her for who she was. Letting out a deep breath, she flipped the pad closed. She didn't need to stare at the image to remember. It was an image she often drew from memory. Gathering her things she walked through the bar, turning off lights as she went. As she locked the door and began the short walk to her apartment, she let her mind drift to earlier days. She wondered where he was and if he was okay as she tried to picture how he would look now after all this time.

As she climbed the stairs to her apartment, she let herself inside, stripping off her clothes as she went. Locking the door, she set her alarm and fell into bed, hugging her pillow tightly. She fell into a deep sleep quickly, dreams of treehouses and crossbows floating through her mind.

...

**Don't fret my fellow Carylers! I know some will panic over Rick, but hang with me, I've got my reasons for everything! Leave me a review and let me know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again! Got another little chapter out for you all to move us on along in this fic. This one was difficult to write for many reasons, but all the same I hope you enjoy the glimpse into Daryl's life such as it is now. Thanks as always for the lovely reviews and I hope everyone is keeping warm wherever you are in the world! :)**

...

Daryl sighed as he opened the fridge and peered inside. A carton of sour milk and two beers stared back at him from the inside. Slamming the door shut, he didn't even bother looking in the cabinets. He knew that they would be empty. He was sick of being stuck in this shitty ass apartment working a dead end job down at Mac's Garage. There was never anything to eat in the house and his roommate Devon was always fucking high.

What a life he had.

Merle was off somewhere overseas in the military, doing only God knows what. Daryl was proud of him for finally doing something with his life, but he wanted something better for himself as well. He was still a little miffed at Merle for leaving him behind to deal with Hank all by himself and running off to the military. There had been countless beatings after Merle wasn't around anymore; so many that Daryl had stopped counting. What was worse than the scars though, what really ate at him was his inability to let anyone get close to him because of it. There were girls that attracted his interest, but it never went much farther than that because he couldn't bear to be touched. Every touch brought back a flood of memories of being beaten. Eventually he stopped trying to meet anyone. No one would ever understand the demons that haunted him.

Daryl didn't know where Hank was and he really didn't care. As soon as Daryl was old enough to fight back, Hank's beatings had slowed tremendously though the emotional abuse had still continued. Daryl packed his shit one night and left without even knowing where he was going to go. He spent several nights sleeping in random places, never staying in one location for too long. Sometimes he did odd jobs for cash so he could stay at a motel or he crashed at a random stranger's house. Through a party he met his present roommate Devon and soon he had had his own deluxe "suite" in the middle of the ghetto. He got himself a job and he was trying to make his life work even though he felt like he was failing miserably. Sometimes it was all he could do to hold his head above water to keep from drowning.

Slamming the fridge shut, Daryl walked outside, heading down the street to look for somewhere to grab a bite to eat. He hadn't explored the neighborhood too much beyond a few establishments here and there. The apartments they lived in were close to a lot of things that Daryl could walk to, including his job at the garage, but he just wasn't interested in exploring what the city had to offer. He had Merle's truck, but most of the time he walked everywhere he went. He couldn't afford to put gas into the truck all of the time and the truck sucked it up as soon as he put it in. It was late and there weren't many people out as he strolled along. Most of the restaurants were closed with the only places open being bars and strip clubs. Passing over the strip club, he headed into a place called Luckys and took a seat at the bar up front.

It was his first time visiting the place, but it didn't seem too bad for the neighborhood. Really the neighborhood itself wasn't all that bad; it was mostly the apartment complex that he stayed in. The place looked as if it were on the verge of being condemned and Daryl kept expecting to come home one day and see the yellow caution tape plastered all over the run down building. It was cheap though and it was the best that he could afford on his salary right now. He was trying to save as much money as he could though. There were several people in the bar, but it wasn't too crowded and Daryl selected one of the menus from the counter.

"Hi, what can I get ya?"

Daryl looked up, startled from his examination of the menu and he rubbed his forehead, fighting off the beginning of a headache.

"Uh, I'll jus' take a burger, no mayo, no onion please," Daryl replied.

The waitress nodded and scribbled on her pad, "Anything to drink?" She lifted her eyebrows at him in question.

"Coke's fine."

She nodded again and gave him a small smile, "Be right up."

He tipped his head to her in thanks and settled back onto his bar stool wearily. There were a couple of flat screen TVs mounted to the wall and he distractedly glanced over at one that was playing a football game even though he wasn't interested. He toyed with the salt shaker for a few minutes before reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. He hadn't meant to pick up the awful habit, but somewhere along the way he had. They helped to calm him down when he was stressed and now he couldn't seem to put them down for anything. He supposed there were worse things he could be doing though so he didn't worry too much about it anymore.

The waitress came back over to him and set a glass of Coke down on the counter.

"Need a straw?"

He smirked, "Nah, I'm good."

A smile teased her lips and she leaned her elbows onto the counter to stare at him, "Haven't seen you around here before. You new to the area?"

Daryl shook his head, taking a sip of his soda, "Nah. Been livin' here for 'bout six months or so I reckon'," He replied.

"Oh okay. My name's Rachel by the way," She offered.

Daryl shifted on his stool a little, not really good at the small talk.

"Daryl," He supplied.

Rachel grinned at him, "Well it's nice to meet you Daryl. You need anything else let me know. I'll have that burger out for ya soon," She turned her attention over to a man at the end of the bar who was waving at her and hurried away from him, glancing back at him once over her shoulder.

Daryl took a draw from his cigarette, glad to be left alone. He wasn't much of a conversationalist and he hadn't ever been good at talking to women. He couldn't understand why they all seemed drawn to him all the time, but they did. He didn't have much to offer anyone and figured he was better off alone. A hand reaching around him had him turning swiftly; ready to attack, but the guy raised his hands in surrender.

"Easy man, I was just going to borrow your ketchup," The guy replied.

Daryl relaxed his shoulders, feeling embarrassed for having reacted so strongly. It was a reflex reaction and one that happened too often for comfort. Daryl lifted the bottle of ketchup and passed it over to the guy.

"Sorry 'bout that. Kinda jumpy I guess," Daryl admitted.

The guy nodded his head in understanding, "It's alright. I should have said something before reaching across someone like that. You would think I would know better than that by now."

Daryl watched as the guy sat back down a couple of bar stools away from him. He hadn't even paid the guy any attention until now. He had to get his shit together; it was unlike him to be oblivious to what was going on around him. He just wished that he could have some luck in his life for once. Daryl offered Rachel a small smile as she sat his plate down in front of him before turning to attend to another customer. He lifted his bun to make sure it was cooked to his specifications and then settled down to eat. The burger wasn't bad by bar standards, but he longed for a home cooked meal. He hadn't had a home cooked meal since...since he had lived next to Carol. At the thought of her he began to let his mind drift and wonder to what she might be up to now. He felt bad for never calling or writing her, but he wasn't the type to call or write and he really wouldn't have known what to say to her. What did people write in letters anyway? He didn't have anything really good going for him that he could talk about. He didn't even know if she still lived in the same place or not. Daryl felt bad now thinking about it. He should have gone back to visit or something. Carol had been the only one to actually get him.

None of that mattered now though. He bit into his burger, chewing thoughtfully. That had been a long time ago and things were certainly different now. Surely she had moved on to somewhere great and she probably had a really nice house. He swallowed his food bitterly, waving Rachel over to him.

"Can I get ya something else?" She asked him.

"Yeah. Gimme a Jack and Coke," He responded gruffly.

If he was going to sit here and sulk in his memories then he wasn't going to do so sober. He wasn't a big drinker, but lately the stress of life had been getting to him. He just needed one drink to take the edge off so that he could get some sleep later. Rachel was back with the drink moments later and she sat it down in front of him, retrieving his empty plate before heading back to the kitchen.

"Rough night?"

Daryl turned his head to glance at the guy who had borrowed the ketchup. He didn't appear to be much older than himself, but he had the look of a sophisticated college kid and that made Daryl take a dislike to him immediately.

"Somethin' like that," Daryl replied as he took a long sip of his drink.

"I've never been much of a drinker. Are those pretty good?"

Daryl snorted, "Don't know many people that drink 'em for tha taste," he said as he stared down at the dark liquid solemnly. "People drink ta forget."

"Got a lot on your mind, huh?"

He shrugged, "Somethin' like that," He repeated.

"I'm Rick," The guy offered.

Daryl sighed. Sometimes people just didn't take the hint that you didn't want to talk. It looked as if Rick was going to be one of those people. He took another long pull of his drink before replying.

"Daryl."

Rick tipped his head in greeting, "You live around here?"

Daryl glanced at Rick out of the corner of his eye somewhat suspiciously, "Maybe. What's it to ya?"

"Just trying to make conversation is all. Sorry to have bothered you. Have a good night," Rick stood, sliding a couple of bills next to his plate.

Daryl watched him make him make his way over to the register, chatting with the waitress as she rang him up. He scoffed and shook his head. He didn't care for those types of people, the rich kids who thought that they were better than you just because they could afford fancy clothing and cars. Daryl bet Rick drove a fancy car. He glanced down at his own work boots that had seen better days.

Someday he would be able to afford better, he thought. One day he would pull out of this glamorous life and he wouldn't have to struggle anymore.

One day.

...

**Yeah, I know that was kind of depressing, but Daryl's in a rough patch in his life right now and I wanted to get that point across. He's not entirely happy with the way things are going for him and he's lashing out at people around him a little. Remember he's been physically and emotionally abused up to this point so he's not entirely trusting of people either. **

**I promise it will get better! Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing what you think! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi everyone! I'm glad that everyone liked that glimpse into Daryl's life now! Poor thing, I think he needs him some Carol to perk him up a little, don't you think? Will it happen this chapter? We'll just have to see! As always, reviews are wonderful and they feed my muse! I'd love to hear your thoughts. Have a lovely day!**

...

"So..." Rachel turned to Carol with a grin as the two women worked on getting the bar stocked while they didn't have any customers. "Had a totally hot guy come in the other day."

Carol smiled to herself and shook her head. Rachel was always finding some guy hot. Carol would swear the woman was in heat all of the time by the way she drooled over some of the men that frequented the bar. Rachel was always nice to her though and Carol appreciated the friendship the two of them shared.

"Why am I always off when the really cute ones come in?" Carol frowned.

Rachel shrugged as she began scrubbing at a sticky spot on the bar, "I don't know, but you're right. That's weird," She wrinkled her nose. "Anyway," she went on, "He had the total bad boy look going for him and you _know _how much I love a bad boy. Short brown hair that was a tad unruly and the bluest damn eyes I have ever seen."

Carol raised a brow at her friend, "I think you're just sex depraved," She teased.

"Stop it! I'm serious! One look at these eyes and you'll soak your panties. You just wait. I bet he comes back soon."

She rolled her eyes at her friend's comment, "How do you know he even lives around here?" Carol asked.

Rachel gave her an incredulous look, "Did you forget who you're talking to? Hello! I asked him!" She laughed, "It's just too damn bad I was busy and didn't have a lot of time to talk to him. Your new guy crush had a little chat with him though. Daryl almost took his hand off over a bottle of ketchup."

Carol froze, sucking in a deep breath at the name, "What did you say his name was?" She asked softly.

"Daryl something or other," Rachel commented, oblivious to Carol's reaction, "I don't think he said, but his last name doesn't matter. Not gonna be screaming that out when I'm having visions of him and I in my double bed."

Rachel paused as she looked over at Carol, realizing that she wasn't even listening to her.

Frowning, she touched Carol's arm with concern, "Hey. Are you okay?"

Carol nodded, biting down on her lip. She was being ridiculous, she knew. There had to be lots of Daryl's in the world. The chances of the Daryl Dixon that she had known a long time ago walking back into her life after all of this time were slim to none. She needed to get a grip. It wasn't like she could just spend the rest of her life wondering about a person. How pathetic was that? He probably didn't even remember her.

She sighed, letting the subject drop, "You said Rick was here?"

Rachel nodded, "Yeah. He asked about you too. Guy's got the hots for you girl."

Carol gave her a weak smile. Rick had been coming in a good bit since that first night he had caught her drawing at the bar. She could tell that he was interested in her, but she just wasn't sure if she wanted that kind of commitment in her life right now. She had a lot going on already with trying to balance school and work. He didn't seem deterred by her attempts to sway him though and she had to admit he was kind of charming in a way.

"He is persistent," Carol admitted.

"You should go out with him, give him a chance. You need to get out some and enjoy yourself."

Carol looked at her friend. She knew that she was right. It had been a long time since Carol had done anything purely for her own enjoyment besides drawing. Rick was a nice guy, but she just didn't feel that spark when they talked. Carol wanted someone to make her feel weak in the knees and give her butterflies in her belly. So far, she hadn't met anyone who had even come close to that.

"I don't know," Carol shrugged.

"Well you better decide, because here comes the charmer now," Rachel jerked her head towards the door where a few people had just entered the bar.

Carol looked up and spotted Rick in the crowd, his eyes meeting hers. She waited for that tiny flutter of sensation, that spark that she wanted to feel to grab her, but it never came. Rick smiled at her and Carol smiled back, trying to hide her slight disappointment over that fact.

Rachel touched her arm, "I'll take care of this group. Talk to him Carol. He seems like a good guy and you need some fun in your life."

"Gee thanks," Carol muttered dryly, even though she knew that Rachel was right.

Rachel squeezed her arm affectionately and then floated over to the group of people who were pushing two tables together across the room. Carol bit at her lip as Rick made his way over to the bar. He slid up on one of the stools and leaned forward on his elbows, smiling at her.

"Hey there, I'm looking for this beautiful waitress that works here. She's about this tall-" Rick gestured with his hand, "And she's got the most beautiful blue eyes I've _ever_ seen."

Carol blushed. She wasn't used to men complimenting her too much. She had always considered herself kind of plain when it came to looks. She wasn't big, but she wasn't stick thin either. Her hair was shoulder length and a dark auburn color. The blue of her eyes had always been her favorite feature though.

"Hi Rick," Carol said.

"Hey Carol...Came in the other night to see you, but you weren't working. I was disappointed," He said.

She shook her head with a chuckle, "Well I can't work _every_ night," She said.

Rick reached across the bar and lifted her hand, stroking his lean fingers across her palm lightly, "You deserve a night off. Let me take you out this weekend," He urged.

Carol bit her lip in indecision, her eyes flicking up to meet Rachel's across the room. Rachel made facial gestures at Rick, telling Carol not too subtlety to go out with him. Carol cleared her throat and gently pulled her hand away from his.

"I have to work this weekend. Weekends are our busiest time," She said.

"Fine. When are you off again?"

Carol sighed, "I'm off tomorrow," She offered.

He nodded, "Alright, tomorrow. I can swing that. Let me take you to dinner or a movie."

She found herself nodding at him. She supposed she would give it a shot and see how it went. One night out couldn't hurt and she _was_ tired of sitting at home all of the time. If nothing else they could at least be friends.

"Oh alright, I guess I can meet you here at seven?" She asked.

Rick smiled, "Perfect."

She smiled at him and then moved down the bar to help another patron who was trying to get her attention. Things were picking up and soon she was so busy taking orders and passing out drinks that when it finally began to slow some she was exhausted. Rick was still in the bar, sitting over with the group of people that he had entered with earlier. She watched him for a few minutes as he laughed and chatted with his friends.

They struck her as the type of people who didn't really have to worry about money ever and she found herself envious of them. Then she chided herself for being jealous over something so trivial. Her Daddy had always taught her that money wasn't everything and she was a firm believer of that. Sometimes all of the money in the world couldn't make a person happy he had once said. Watching them all laugh now, she wondered if she had done the right thing in accepting a date with Rick. He was obviously out of her league and it made her wonder why he would even find her attractive to begin with. She hated to be questioning his motives, but as she looked over some of the women at the table, she knew that she didn't measure up physically and it worried her.

Rick smiled at something someone said, his perfectly white teeth flashing before his eyes slid up to meet hers. He nodded his head at her, the smile never leaving his face. She gave him a small smile back, suddenly not really feeling this date that she had agreed upon. She didn't know why she had let Rachel talk her into accepting it or Rick for that matter. She had never been one to do what others wanted or expected of her. She firmly believed in doing what made you happy regardless of what was socially acceptable. It had worked really well for her up to this point. She walked the bar, grabbing up empty glasses and trash as she went.

She had done well with tips tonight and the wad of money pressed into her jeans pocket was comforting to her as she worked. It felt good to be making her own money and even on nights like this when she was exhausted, it was a good kind of exhaustion. The kind that came from knowing you had worked your ass off, but you had earned every penny of it. Those were the nights that Carol liked the most.

She grabbed her bottle of water and chugged half of it down before stopping. She had worked up a sweat. She was nearly knocked off balance when Rachel plowed into her, pushing her through the swinging door and into the kitchen where the cook gave them a weird look.

"What the heck?" Carol cried out.

Rachel shushed her and dragged her over to the serving window, "That guy I told you about is here! He sat down in one of the booths this time though," Rachel's fingers were digging into her arm and she winced as she pulled away.

"Calm down! You're acting like an animal!" Carol nearly laughed at her friend's distraught expression.

"I can't wait on him like this! I'm freaking sweaty and my hair is drooping! You have to go take his order for me, _please,_" Rachel begged.

"Oh alright. Calm yourself. I'll go and take his order, but _you_ get cleanup duty tonight. I'm exhausted," Carol said.

Rachel smiled, "Deal! Let me know what you think of him!"

Carol sighed at her friend and exited through the kitchen doors, digging in her pockets for her pad. Glancing up, she could see the back of the mystery man's head and she pasted a smile on her face as she walked over to take his order. Grabbing her pen she stopped at the table and glanced up at him.

"Hi, Welcome to Luckys! What can I get you?" She asked.

The guy lifted his head, his blue eyes fixating on hers in a way that made her breath catch. There was something so familiar about those eyes that she almost took a step backwards.

_It couldn't be._

She knew that she was staring at him with her mouth slightly open and from the corner of her eye she could see Rachel across the room staring at her, but she couldn't move. Her feet were frozen to the floor. He was different, obviously older, but at the same time he was the same. His hair was dark now, his body leaner and more defined, but his eyes...those eyes were still the same. She blinked several times, her hands shaking slightly. He tilted his head to stare at her, his eyes studying her intently.

"Daryl?" She asked. "Daryl Dixon?"

He sucked in an audible breath, "_Carol?_"

...

**Yes, I'm evil and I'm well aware of it! LOL, but I have so much coming up next that I knew if I kept going this chapter would be ridiculously long. This seemed to be the best stopping point. Don't worry, I'll update soon! ;) **


	11. Chapter 11

**I was going to try and work on my other fics, but the muse was determined that I work on this one so here it is! I'm quite enjoying watching this one unfold and I think I'm as anxious as all of you to read what happens with it! I wanted to start on this earlier, but it's been a heck of a day and I'm so very tired. I'm going to try to update another one of my stories before dinner, but I don't want to make any promises. Hopefully I can get enough peace and quiet to get it done though. Thanks for all of your kind words and support for this one! They mean so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I did! **

...

Daryl wasn't sure what brought him back to the bar, but he had just needed to get out. It had been an especially busy day at work and his day hadn't improved upon arriving back at the apartment. As usual there had been nothing in the place to eat and he was sick of buying food only to have it eaten before he could get home. He was tired, tired of working his ass off at a dead end job and struggling to make ends meet. Maybe that was what had led him to the bar, the lure of alcohol that could make everything evaporate if enough was consumed. Seeing that the bar was a little too crowded for his tastes, he eyed a booth off to the side where he would hopefully be able to drink in peace. A familiar voice echoed across the room from amidst a small group occupying two tables in the center of the room. Daryl recognized the rich college kid from the last time that he had been here and he rolled his eyes.

Playing with the cheap coasters that were stacked on the table he stared at the empty booth across from him, waiting on the waitress to come over and take his order. He had already spotted that same waitress that had waited on him last time and he figured she would be over to see to him as soon as she was free.

When he heard her footsteps approaching, he didn't even bother glancing up. It was only when she began to speak that everything inside of him came to a screeching halt. Instead of the same voice that he had heard last time, he heard an entirely different one. Glancing up, he stared into rich blue eyes that were staring back at him equally as hard. Daryl blinked his eyes several times, glancing off at the wall and then back again. It was her. He was absolutely sure of it. She had changed over the years, but the facial features were still pretty much the same.

And then she spoke, "Daryl Dixon?"

His breath hitched. Yes, it was most definitely her.

"Carol?" He asked, even though he already knew.

She was standing as still as a statue, her mouth open slightly, her chest heaving rapidly as if she were on the verge of a panic attack.

"What...what are you doing here?" She breathed.

He swallowed, gesturing around with his hands, "I...I uh, live nearby," He responded.

She closed her eyes for a second and he almost reached for her, thinking that she might pass out, but he stopped himself. She opened her eyes again and bit her lip, her eyes raking over to the bar.

"One second. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere," She said suddenly.

Daryl nodded, wondering why she would think that he would just get up and leave when he wasn't entirely possible that his legs would support him at the moment. He turned in the booth, his eyes following her as she walked to the bar.

The years had been good to her, he observed. Her hair flowed down to her shoulders, a dark auburn color that looked really good on her. She was still as tiny as she had been so long ago. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, his ideal choice of clothing if he had to pick. Incredible memories began flooding his brain. Memories of them in that treehouse, dinner with her parents, her drawing him in the woods, and of her treating his wounds after a particularly bad night with Hank.

He felt eyes on him and he turned, his gaze meeting that of the college guy. He couldn't recall the guy's name, but he was staring from him to Carol curiously. Daryl stared back for a few moments, trying to figure out if this guy had some kind of connection to Carol. Surprisingly he hoped that he didn't. A surge of jealousy slid through him, but he ignored it. He had no claims to Carol other than being her friend so long ago and that's how he wanted it. Right?

His eyes jerked up in surprise when Carol touched his arm, her purse in hand. She tugged on his arm, pulling him to a standing position.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," She said quietly.

Daryl's mouth dropped open slightly before he clamped it shut. He merely nodded, his gaze sliding over her shoulder to college guy again. The guy was clearly interested in their situation as he was making an obvious effort to study them. Carol began tugging him towards the door and his feet followed despite his earlier failed attempts to move.

"Where we goin'?" He leaned forward to ask.

"My place," Carol's words floated back to him, not even bothering to turn around.

They had just passed the table with college guy and Daryl wasn't surprised to see the guy stand up.

"Carol," The guy called.

Daryl's eyes flitted back and forth between the two of them, curious to if there was a relationship there that he should know about.

Carol didn't even slow down, "Not now Rick," She muttered as they reached the door.

"Rick," Daryl said, remembering the guy's name now.

College guy's name was Rick. Daryl turned and gave Rick a little wave as they disappeared out of the door.

…...

Carol didn't speak to him the whole way to her apartment. She didn't know what to say. She hadn't even explained much to Rachel beyond the fact that she and Daryl knew each other from a long time ago. Rachel had been bummed at the loss of a potential date, but she had coaxed Carol to leave and have a good time. Carol wasn't sure what she had meant by good time, but she did want to talk to him. She had so many questions for him, so many things she wanted to tell him. She didn't even know where to start. She could still barely believe that he was here, that he was real.

His skin was warm under her hand, his arm thick, but not with fat. She tried to keep her focus on where she was going, ignoring the fact that she was still half dragging him when he clearly wasn't protesting on following her. His warmth felt good under her hand, too good.

When they made it to her apartment, she reluctantly released her hold on him to unlock her door. He followed her in, standing in the entry way somewhat awkwardly as she flipped on lights throughout the tiny space.

Her apartment was small, really small now that there were actually two people standing inside of it for the first time. Her bed sat to the left when you walked in and the kitchen on the right. She had a small TV and a tiny kitchen table in the center of the room. Next to her bed was a closet and a bathroom. There was no living room and no separate space for the bedroom, but it was cheap and it was home for now. She sat her purse on the counter and leaned against it, trying to figure out what she was going to say now that she had him here.

He had his hands shoved into his pockets and was looking around the room, taking it all in. She took that opportunity to really study him. The years had been good to him. Standing, she could take in all of him. He wore a black shirt with no sleeves and washed out jeans with dirty work boots. He was lean and she was pretty sure that there wasn't an ounce of fat on him anywhere. As her eyes coasted over his bare arms, she was almost startled to feel a slight tingle deep in her belly. Swallowing deeply, she wrenched open the cabinet and grabbed out two glasses, turning to him.

"Thirsty?" She asked.

He turned to her, his deep blue eyes seeming to bore straight into her soul. She shook off the weird sensations that pulsed through her. This was _Daryl_. He was, well _had_, been her best friend. What in the hell was wrong with her?

He nodded, his tongue darting out to lick at his lips, "Uh, sure."

She poured two glasses of tea, walking over to him and handing him one. The only places to sit were the bed and the kitchen table, so she chose the table, gesturing to it with her hand. He pulled out a chair and they both sat, their hands wrapped around their drinks, shifting awkwardly in the silence.

Carol was the first to break the silence, "How have you been?"

Daryl took a sip of his tea, his eyes flicking up to hers, "Alright I guess. You?"

"Pretty decent," She replied.

"How's yer parents doin'? They still at tha same place?"

Carol closed her eyes and ducked her head, inhaling deeply. Daryl didn't know about her parents, of course not. He must have sensed her unease because he leaned forward in his chair, his hand brushing against hers gently.

"Hey, you OK?" He asked.

Carol took a deep breath and let it out, nodding slowly. She opened her eyes to look at him again.

"My parents are dead. Car accident," She said softly.

Daryl sucked in a breath, "Son of a bitch. That's rough. I'm sorry." He gnawed on his thumb, glancing around the room. "M' sorry for bringin' it up," He said softly, his face portraying a sadness that touched her to her core.

She shook her head, holding back the tears that threatened to fall, "No, you didn't know. It's okay," She whispered.

She wiped at her face, knowing her eyes were red. Taking another drink, she cleared her throat.

"How are things with you? Merle?"

"Merle's in tha military," He frowned. "Don't know where Hank is. Don't rightly care neither," He muttered.

Carol nodded. She could see the pain in his eyes at the mention of Merle and Hank. She supposed that the past was a little tender for them both at the moment so she decided to change the subject.

"So...you staying in the city?"

He nodded, "I'm 'round, yeah."

Daryl finished his tea and set the glass down on the table with a thump.

"So ya workin' at a bar? Don't really seem like yer type o' place," He commented.

Carol smiled softly, "I'm just there until I can get through school. I'm going to the tech school here."

Daryl raised his brows, "Yeah? Ya takin' art then?"

"Actually, no. I'm uh, going into nursing."

Daryl frowned, "Nursin'? What 'bout ya art? Ya don't draw no more?"

"No, I still draw. It's just that I found out it's kind of hard to make a living at it unless you're _really_ good and I'm not. There's a lot of competition out there. I need something that will pay the bills," She explained.

He stared at her, tilting his head to the side, his eyes seeming to see inside of her soul.

"Ya are good at it," He said softly.

Carol blushed and looked down at her hands, "Thanks. I'm okay I guess."

There were several moments of silence where they sat there and Carol couldn't keep from staring at him. Several times she caught him staring at her too and then they would both blush and look away until they did it again a few moments later.

"So," Daryl broke the silence. "Ya seein' anybody? That guy at tha bar? He gonna try an' pound me for comin' back ta your place?"

Carol flushed bright red, "Who Rick? God no! I mean, he's nice, but I'm not seeing him. I'm not seeing anybody," She babbled.

He nodded and she waited for him to offer up his status, but he didn't.

"What about you?" She pressed.

He simply shook his head, but remained quiet. It was several moments before he spoke, "Ain't got no one," He muttered.

He stood up then, drawing her attention to him. He shoved his hands in his pockets, his gaze traveling over some of her artwork that she had decorated the walls of her apartment with. His face was blank as he walked around the small space, taking them all in. Carol remained seated, watching him. He stopped at one in particular and she saw the way he tensed as he stared at it.

Glancing over his shoulder he met her gaze, his features portraying mixed emotions. She stood up slowly, crossing the small space to stand next to him. Together they both looked at the portrait of the young hunter and his treehouse. He stood next to the window, his features relaxed and carefree. Carol remembered that moment well. He had just completed the treehouse and he had been so excited about it. As he had rambled on and on about what he had done to it, Carol had sat with her back against the wall. She had been amused at his excitement and she had frantically sketched his outline, wanting to capture the moment the best way that she knew how.

He turned to her, his body so close to hers that she could feel the warmth of his breath hitting her face.

"Why did'ja bring me here Carol?"

...

**Review?**


	12. Chapter 12

**Wow! The response for the last chapter was awesome! I'm glad you all are enjoying this one! I'm spurred on by your reviews to continue. The muse is going strong for this one right now! I would have had more out yesterday, but I got so aggravated with the site because it wouldn't let me upload until after midnight last night! I hate that! Anyway, it seems to be working(for now anyway) so I'm going to go ahead and post this. I can't wait for y'all to see what all I've got planned for this whole fic! I wish I could write all the chapters all at once just so we could all read them, but alas, it doesn't quite work that way... Enjoy!**

...

Carol stared at Daryl, not really knowing how to answer his question.

"You never called me," She blurted suddenly.

She had no idea where that came from or why her brain had just decided to up and blurt that out, but she wished like hell she could take it back now that she had said it.

He ducked his head, scratching at the back of his neck, "I didn't really know what to say to ya. Shit got pretty bad for a while. Didn't wanna drag ya down with my shit," He muttered.

Carol grabbed his shirt, fisting her fingers into the cloth tightly. She tugged, getting his attention back on her.

"I missed you," She breathed, her heart thundering in her chest.

Daryl swallowed, shifting his eyes to the picture on her wall and then back to her, "Thangs was hard Carol. Some o' tha shit we had ta do..." He trailed off. "Ya didn't need ta hear 'bout none o' that."

She slowly uncurled her fingers from his shirt, smoothing her hand over the wrinkles that she had created, not really wanting to stop touching him. His chest heaved underneath her touch and she lingered for a second longer before releasing him. She took a couple of steps backwards.

"I should be gettin' back," He said.

Her heart began to thud in her chest. She didn't want him to leave. Suddenly she felt like that if he left, she might never see him again.

"Do you have to leave?"

He nodded softly, turning on his boot so that he could head towards the door.

"Will I see you again?" She knew she was asking a lot of questions, but she couldn't help it.

"Ya wanna see me again?" He asked softly.

Carol nodded, "Of course I do! Daryl...you're my best friend."

She grabbed his hand, holding it between both of hers. His hands were rough, more than likely from a hard day's work, but they were warm all the same. His touch was comforting to her in so many ways. How she longed for the days when they were young again and everything was so simple. Why did this time it feel so complicated?

His eyes searched hers and then he smiled crookedly, "Yeah. I'll be 'round. When ya off again?" He asked.

Carol searched her schedule in her mind, "Thursday."

"Okay. Maybe I can come by," He offered.

"Wonderful! I'll cook for you," She said excitedly.

He nodded, "Sounds good. Been a long time since I had a home cooked meal. Five okay?"

Carol smiled as he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. She leaned against the door frame.

"Perfect. It's a date!" She said and then she cleared her throat, realizing how it sounded.

They both blushed and the atmosphere became a little awkward, both of them shuffling their feet.

"Sounds perfect ta me," Daryl finally said softly.

Carol's head snapped up, her eyes meeting his in the hallway, her breath catching. Daryl raised his hand and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. Carol closed her eyes briefly, committing the moment to memory. He dropped his hand back by his side just as quickly, as if realizing what he had done.

"Goodnight Daryl," She whispered.

He turned, nodding at her, "Night."

…...

"So...what you're saying is, you had a totally hot guy all to yourself in your apartment and you didn't even kiss him? What the hell is wrong with that picture?" Rachel asked Carol as she wiped down another table in the empty bar.

"It isn't like that between Daryl and I. We're just friends," Carol insisted.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, okay. It was _real_ friendly like how you practically dragged the man out of here by his shirt."

Carol felt her face turning red. She hadn't really thought about how it would look. She had only been thinking about getting Daryl someplace private so that they could talk without everyone staring.

"I did not _drag_ him," Carol protested.

Rachel chuckled, "Yeah honey. You did. You should have seen the look on Rick's face too!"

"Rick?" Carol repeated blankly.

She had forgotten all about Rick. She had been so focused on everything with Daryl that she hadn't really given the man a second thought. Rachel maneuvered the last salt shaker into place and walked back over to the bar. She threw the rag down and pulled Carol around the bar to sit on one of the stools.

Carol rubbed her forehead, "I forgot all about Rick," She muttered.

"Yeah. Hot badass guys will do that to ya. Happens to me all the time," Rachel rolled her eyes with a smile.

Carol snickered at her friend and then she moaned as she realized something.

"Oh no!"

"What the hell is wrong now?" Rachel asked.

"I told Daryl to come over for dinner tomorrow night because I'm off!" Carol cried.

"And this is a problem how?" Rachel stared at her blankly.

"Because I told Rick I would go on a date with _him_ tomorrow!"

Rachel shrugged, "So cancel it."

"I'm not canceling on Daryl," Carol gave her friend an incredulous look.

Rachel laughed, "I wasn't talking about Daryl...but the fact that you assumed I was speaks volumes," She raised her eyebrows suggestively and looked over her shoulder as an older man walked in. "Look, just tell Rick that you'll have to reschedule and you'll call him soon. That way you aren't pressured to make the date yet."

Rachel squeezed her arm and walked over to the man who had taken a seat down at the end of the bar. Carol sighed. She had gone from thinking her life was completely boring to suddenly thinking that she might like that boring life back. She rubbed her temples wearily. It was going to be a long day.

...

Daryl released the plug on the oil pan, watching the thin brown substance drain out of the vehicle he was currently underneath. There wasn't a part of him that wasn't covered in engine oil and grease and he figured it would take him about all damn night to get himself clean and smelling relatively human again. He slid out from under the car, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette while he waited for all of the oil to finish draining from the car. He really hated this shit. He liked cars, but he just didn't care for fixing them. Mac seemed to think that he was great at it and he might be, but he just didn't get any enjoyment from it. He wanted to use his hands in a different way. He wanted to _build_ shit.

He used the sleeve of his coveralls to wipe at his forehead, probably doing more harm than good considering there wasn't a place that didn't have oil already on it. He sighed loudly, taking a drag from the cigarette and releasing the smoke into the air. It was a relatively slow day and as soon as he was done with this car, then Mac had said that he could go on home. Only Daryl didn't really care to go back to the apartment. Most times he only stayed there long enough to sleep and shower, choosing to be out at the shop tinkering around instead. He couldn't wait until he could afford his own place one day.

His stomach growled, reminding him that he had worked through lunch and he took another draw from the cigarette before putting it out on the concrete floor. As he slid back underneath the car, he thought about the empty fridge that would surely be waiting on him at the apartment and he let out an irritated sigh. He thought about the bar too and he figured that Carol might be working by the time he left the garage. He would have to go home and shower first, but then he decided that he would head on over to the bar and order some food. Maybe they could talk if she wasn't too busy. Last night had been awkward, but he had still enjoyed being around her again. He grunted as he turned a wrench to tighten a bolt. He sped up his movements, already looking forward to seeing her again.

...

"Dipshit over there keeps giving me lustful looks. I'm going to jab him in the eye with my pen," Rachel jerked her head in the direction of a guy sitting down at the end of the bar.

He was clearly drunk and Carol had already decided that she was cutting him off from anymore alcohol. He was already exhibiting signs of becoming unruly and that was the last thing that either she or Rachel needed at the moment.

"Don't give him any more alcohol," Carol advised.

"Oh no worries here. I wasn't planning on it," Rachel said as she refilled a beer from the tap, smiling at an older gentleman who thanked her.

It was a slow night and Carol counted four people total in the bar. Wednesdays were usually slow for them though, unless there was a big game or something on. She glanced at the clock and sighed.

"It's time for you to go anyhow. I've still got four more hours of this," Carol griped.

Rachel followed her gaze to the clock, "You gonna be okay here? You know I'll stick around if you want me to."

Carol smiled and nodded, "I'm fine. Charlie's in the back cooking if I need anything I suppose."

Rachel scoffed, "Charlie? Are you serious Carol? Have you seen Charlie? The damn man is pushing sixty and definitely not gonna be much help if you need it."

Charlie had been the short order cook for the bar for nearly as long as the bar had been in existence. He was quiet and most times it was easy to forget that he was even back there at all. Carol figured the only reason the owners even kept him around was because he had been there for so long. They had a panic button inconspicuously placed near the register that alerted the local police if anything went down, but as far as Carol knew, no one had ever had to use it.

"I'm fine, I promise. There are other people in here and I've got the panic button if I need it. Go ahead and go. Spend some time with your son while you have it," Carol urged.

Rachel nodded, smiling as she thought of her son, "Alright. You convinced me. But you have my number. Call me if you need me, okay?"

She nodded, "Got it. Now go!"

She shooed the other girl out of the bar and checked on the few customers that still remained. Satisfied that everyone was okay, she set about tidying up some of the unoccupied tables, sweeping up various crumbs that had been overlooked from earlier in the day.

"'Ey! I need another...drank," The drunk guy at the end of the bar drunkenly called out to her.

Carol narrowed her eyes and walked behind the bar to look at him. The other guy that was sitting at the bar stood up and headed for the bathroom, Carol's eyes tracking his movements. She was all alone with the drunk guy now, but she wasn't afraid. He wasn't the first drunk she had ever encountered and she was sure that he wouldn't be the last either.

"I already told you I was cutting you off. I'll be glad to call you a cab," She offered.

The guy sneered at her, turning his shotglass onto its side and spinning it around on the top of the bar with his finger. He eyed her lazily.

"Who are you? The fucking alcohol p'lice?" He slurred.

She turned her back to him, intent on ignoring him. She knew all too well from working here that the less you talked to a drunk, the better off you were. There was simply no reasoning with them beyond a certain point anyway. She busied herself with restocking things behind the bar, ignoring the guy as he occasionally sucked at his teeth. The other man returned from the bathroom and paid his bill, nodding to her as he left the bar. Three people left now, she observed. Bending over, she grabbed a few hand towels from underneath the bar and set them out on top for later. Glancing over, she frowned as she realized that the drunk guy wasn't at his stool anymore. The only other two gentleman in the bar were sitting on the other side talking quietly by a window. Carol's eyes swept the length of the bar and then froze when a pair of hands came to rest on either side of her hips. Swallowing thickly, she pushed at the hands only to have the fingers dig into her hips so hard she winced. Hot breath breathed on her ear making her cringe.

"Ya been teasing me all...night girl," He slurred.

Carol struggled to remain calm as she had been taught. She eyed the button that was so close, but yet still out of reach. Maybe if she could distract him enough then she could discreetly press it. She attempted to move, but he dug his fingers in deeper.

"Why don't you go have a seat and I'll bring you another drink?" Carol asked in the sweetest voice that she could muster.

She was growing a little nervous, but she was trying hard not to let it show in her voice. The last thing she wanted was for the guy to think she feared him. He was twenty-one according to the identification that she had checked earlier and he seemed to have a very low tolerance for alcohol. Carol didn't even remember him ordering that many drinks.

"Nah, don't think I want me another drink. Think I want me some of this instead," He pressed himself against her and Carol could feel that he had an erection.

"If you would just have a-"

He pushed her hard against the bar, sending a couple of glasses toppling to their side, but thankfully they didn't break. The two gentleman across the bar looked in their direction, but neither of them moved to help her. They were older men, but she figured that at least they could call someone for her. He reached around to the front of her jeans, his fingers fumbling for the button above her zipper when he was wrenched away from her. Carol backed away from the counter, turning around to see who had come to her rescue.

Daryl had the guy pinned in a headlock, the muscles and tendons of his forearms flexing as he bent the guy over double.

"I believe tha woman asked ya ta have a seat," Daryl's voice rang out clear, quiet, and dangerous.

Carol stood back, observing the scene. The drunk guy muttered a few unintelligent words that Carol couldn't quite make out and Daryl glanced up at her, his eyes coasting over the length of her.

"Ya alright?" He asked.

Carol nodded, her eyes still locked onto the other man's struggle. Daryl seemed perfectly content to hold him all day if needed.

"Call him a cab an' I'll escort him to tha sidewalk. Unless ya wantin' ta press charges?" Daryl asked.

Carol looked at the guy again. He was slowly starting to realize that his struggles were futile and he was calming down some, the fight leaving his body. She really didn't feel like dealing with all of the drama that might come with filing charges and there really wasn't any harm done. She had seen it happen before. Newly legal guys coming into the bar and ordering too much alcohol, not realizing how much they were drinking until it was too late.

"No. It's okay. Just take him outside please. I'll call a cab," She told Daryl.

He nodded, leaning over to the guy before releasing him, "I'm gon' let up on ya ass, but if ya make a swing at me ya better fuckin' make it count cause I'm gonna pound ya ass, ya understand?" Carol watched as the guy nodded mutely. "Good. An' I better not ever see ya set foot in this here bar again neither!"

Daryl released the guy, pushing him in the direction of the exit as Carol picked up the phone.

"Takin' out tha trash, be right back."

...

**Review me! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi! Sorry I didn't get any updates out yesterday! Major busy day and today wasn't much different, but I've got some downtime now so I'm trying to make my rounds. Moving right along with our little story here...I hope you like this chapter! I've already got ideas for the next one. I kind of like this chapter, but I hesitate to say that because that's usually when people hate it and vice versa. Oh well...LOL I still like it and I hope you all do too!**

...

Carol had just finished checking out the last customer as Daryl walked back inside from escorting the very drunk guy to his cab. He looked around in confusion as she locked the door after he came inside.

"Ya closin'?" He asked.

Carol laughed, "Yes. We close at nine on Wednesdays. It's our slow day," She explained.

Daryl frowned, "Weren't aware that bars had slow days. I can't believe it's nine already," He commented.

Carol smiled at his perplexed expression, "Did you have somewhere you have to be?"

She held her breath as she waited for his answer. He had said he wasn't seeing anybody, but she knew that a guy's definition of seeing someone was a lot different than a woman's.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stood in the middle of the empty bar somewhat awkwardly as she moved around him, tidying up the last table before she closed her register down for the night.

"No. I was comin' ta get some food," He scratched his head. "Guess I can grab somethin' at tha Chinese place cross tha street. They always open," He said.

Carol scrunched her nose in disgust, "That place? No way! That place is so gross! I made some chicken salad...If you don't mind sandwiches you could come back to my place," She offered.

She tried to sound nonchalant about it, but secretly she held her breath. She didn't want to push him to spend time with her if he really didn't want to. She really hoped that he wanted to though.

He shrugged, "Sounds good."

…...

"Would you like some chips with your sandwich?" Carol asked him as she spread the chicken salad onto the bread with a spoon.

Daryl was leaning against her counter top, watching her as she made the sandwiches.

"Nah, jus' tha sandwich is fine," He replied.

"Okay."

Carol wrapped his sandwich in a paper towel and handed it to him. His hand brushed against hers as he accepted it and Carol swallowed, trying hard to ignore the flutters deep down in her belly. Grabbing her own sandwich and two sodas for them, she lifted herself on top of one of the counters and swung her legs over the side slowly as she ate. She kept casting glances at Daryl as she ate and occasionally she would see his eyes flick over to hers. He was finished with his sandwich in half the time it normally took her to finish hers and he sipped at his drink as she continued to eat.

"Want me to fix you another sandwich?" She offered.

He scoffed, "Nah. You ain't gotta wait on me Carol."

She shrugged, "I don't mind."

She slid off of the counter and suddenly he was there, pinning her against it with his presence. His brow was furrowed as he stared at her. She almost wanted to laugh at his serious expression, but she didn't dare.

"Ya don't listen for shit, do ya?" He murmured.

Carol stared at him, her insides fluttering dangerously at his close proximity. She tried to overlook her overwhelming flood of desire for him, but she was having a difficult time of it with him being so close to her.

She shook her head, "And you still have a problem letting someone do something nice for you, don't you?" She countered.

His lips twitched and then a sliver of a smile broke out across his face. He stepped backwards a step and held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Guess ya got me there," He said. "But ya still ain't fixin' me a sandwich. My hands ain't broke."

Carol crossed her arms in defeat, "Fine."

Daryl smiled, obviously pleased that he had won that round and he turned around to begin fixing himself a sandwich. She eyed his back and shoulders appreciatively as he moved around, grabbing what he needed.

"Want me ta fix you another one too?" He asked over his shoulder.

Carol's eyes flashed up guiltily from their descent down towards his ass. She was glad that he couldn't see her.

"Sure," She muttered quickly, her face flaming.

She watched as he wrapped up the bread and turned around, handing her her sandwich. She smiled at him in thanks and then her breath caught as he stuck his finger into his mouth to lick off a stray trail of mayo. He pulled it out with a pop and proceeded to grab his own sandwich, biting into it with a renewed energy, completely unaware of her gaping at him.

"Thanks for earlier by the way," She commented when she felt like she could speak normally again.

He merely grunted and nodded while chewing his food.

"Pisses me off when men try ta take advantage of vulnerable women like that," He finally said.

Carol mulled that over while she chewed and frowned.

"I'm not vulnerable. I could have handled that situation on my own," She remarked.

He stopped mid-chew and raised a brow at her, crossing one leg over the other as he regarded her.

"Oh? An' how would'ja have handled it then?"

"We have the panic button..."

He snorted, "An' what if ya weren't close enough ta push it? What then Carol?"

She pursed her lips, going into defensive mode, "Then I would have gotten close enough," She said firmly.

Daryl finished chewing the last of his sandwich and reached over, plucking the remnants of hers from her hand. Before she could protest, however, he held up a finger to silence her. Placing her food to the side, he grabbed her arm, twisting her around so that her stomach was pressed against the counter. She could feel Daryl's warmth behind her, caging her in and she inhaled sharply.

"Daryl?" She questioned.

"This where he was?" His voice spoke low and close to her ear and she nodded softly. "Show me how ya would have gotten free," He demanded suddenly.

Carol frowned, "What? This is ridiculous."

"No. Ya need ta know these things. Ya workin' at a bar. It ain't exactly tha safest job in tha world. Drunk people think on a whole other wavelength," He explained from his position behind her.

Carol closed her eyes momentarily, her brain thinking over possible strategies. She understood Daryl's worry, but really she was positive that she could handle herself. Couldn't she?

She tried to take a step backwards, but his weight was suddenly there, pressing against her and pushing her that much closer to the counter. His warm breath blew over the back of her neck and wrecked her concentration. Growing irritated she slammed her elbow backwards, knocking him in the gut. He grunted and took a step back. She seized the opportunity, whirling around so that she was face to face with him. She underestimated his ability to recover quickly however and he quickly pressed her tight against the counter again. Only this time she was left staring him in the face. He raised a brow as if to say "your move".

Carol narrowed her eyes and tried to drop down low so that she could duck underneath his strong arms. This time he chuckled at her and she glared at him, her eyes shooting sparks in his direction.

"What's so funny?" She snapped.

"That tha best ya got? I could've had ya bent over this counter twice already. _Even_ if I was drunk," He said.

Oh, that did it. She completely ignored the visions that came to mind at his words as she cut her eyes at him.

Breathing in deeply, she had an idea come to her. Smiling mischievously, she raised her hand to his face, cupping his cheek. He tensed, his jaw clenching tightly as she leaned forward.

"_Carol._"

He said her name with a warning tone, but she ignored him as she closed the space between them. His nostrils flared the closer she got and she licked her lips hungrily. Brushing her lips over his cheek, she tried to ignore the smell of his aftershave and the fact that her hands were shaking slightly. She thought he might have trembled beneath her touch, but it had been so slight that she wasn't sure. His breathing had definitely deepened and she took advantage of that to bring her knee up to his groin. She didn't apply force, but she did send the message across that that was how she would have gotten out of that hold. Daryl dropped his arms and stepped back. Carol lounged against the counter, a somewhat satisfied smile upon her face.

"Well does that answer your question?" She asked him.

He glared at her, "Reckon' that might work," He muttered.

Carol gaped at him, "Come on! Just admit that it would have."

He rolled his eyes, turning back to grab his tea and finish off the glass.

"Better than nothin' I s'pose. Ya still need ta know how ta defend yerself," Daryl insisted.

Carol knew he had a point and that using her persuasive womanly powers wouldn't always work, but it might distract a man long enough for her to get help at the very least.

"Ya have any weapons in tha house in case someone tries ta break in on ya?"

Carol shook her head, "Just my pepper spray. I keep it on a keychain with my keys," She answered.

"No gun?"

"No gun," She replied. "But I've never had any problems here. We always look out for each other around here."

"That don't always work. Ya need somethin' more 'an pepper spray. Jesus Carol! Ya been walkin' 'round tha city with no knowledge of self defense and only a small container of pepper spray?"

She frowned. He was making her feel completely helpless. She wasn't a complete idiot when it came to looking after herself and she always made sure not to put herself into situations that could be dangerous. She hadn't had any problems since she had been in the city though. As he stared at her, she almost felt like a child that was being reprimanded for something.

Finally she shrugged, "I guess I've been pretty naive, huh?" She said sadly.

He stood up straight and crossed the three steps that separated them, stopping just in front of her with a look of concern on his face.

"I ain't meant ta make ya feel stupid. I jus' wantcha ta know how ta take care o' yerself. Might not always be 'round ta take out tha trash," He said.

She looked away, not wanting him to see how he had hurt her. His finger touched her chin, turning her head firmly back to him.

"I'm an asshole," He muttered. "Can't never get shit right."

"You're not an asshole," She replied softly.

He nodded, "Yeah I am. Guess I'm jus' tryin' ta channel my inner Merle or some shit like that."

She could feel him staring at her and she couldn't help it. Her lips began to twitch and the slightest smile began to creep over her face. She finally glanced up at him to see him staring at her with relief.

"That was kinda funny," She stated.

"Let me teach ya," Daryl said.

"Teach me what? Self defense?"

He nodded, "We're havin' dinner tomorrow night right? I'll come a lil' early an' show ya some stuff. If'n ya want that is..."

She thought about it. Did she want Daryl in close proximity to her all night and possibly touching her in inappropriate places?

Yes. Yes she did.

"Okay..."

...

**See? I was totally nice and didn't end this one on a cliffhanger. I have no idea why y'all keep saying I do that. LOL...If I do, I don't mean to! I promise! **

**Review? :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi everyone! It's late here and it's been a busy busy day for me today! I wish I would have had more time for updates tonight, but sadly I didn't. Hopefully I will tomorrow though so we'll see. I scanned this for errors, but I'm sure I've missed some. Hopefully I didn't miss a lot though and it's readable. Once again I would like to thank you all for your kind reviews, follows, and favorites! It sure does mean a lot to me! Thanks so much! Y'all rock! :)**

...

Carol has just slid the pan of lasagna into the oven when she heard the knock on the door. Setting the oven mitt on the counter, she brushed her fingers through her hair, checking her reflection in the mirror as she headed to the door. She peeked through the peephole and saw Daryl standing awkwardly out in the hallway. She took a minute to admire him without him knowing. He had on jeans again, but these were black and he wore a plain white tank that showed off his toned arms nicely. He had a backpack hanging on one shoulder and she wondered what kind of things he had inside of it. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and smiled at him.

"Hey, come on in," She said.

He slid past her, his arm grazing hers as he entered the apartment.

She gestured to the table, "You can set your backpack down there if you want. I just put dinner in the oven."

He nodded, "Smells good."

Carol blushed lightly, "I learned a few things from Mama," She cleared her throat and they both stood there in silence. "So what's in the bag?"

"Stuff," He replied with a slight grin. "Ya wanna work on some techniques while we wait on dinner?"

Carol rolled her eyes, "So you didn't forget about that then, huh?"

"This is serious. Ya need ta know this shit," He insisted.

Carol sighed and then nodded, "I know. It's just that I don't really like violence and guns."

Daryl crossed his arms, "It ain't always 'bout bein' violent. I can show ya some tricks that don't resort to guns too."

"Alright. Where do we start?"

Daryl looked around the room. There wasn't a whole lot of space inside of her apartment.

"Mind if I push ya table back a lil'?" He asked.

Carol shrugged, "Sure."

She moved her chairs and he slid the table back until it was flush with the wall so that they had a small clear space to work with.

"Mind if I take off my shoes?" Daryl asked.

Carol smiled, "Of course not."

She was wearing her usual jeans, t-shirt, and socks. She wasn't a very fashionable person; she was more about comfort above anything else. She waited as Daryl removed his boots and set them off to the side. There was something oddly sensual about watching him pad around in his socks. He walked over to her, gesturing for her to move in front of him. He stepped just in front of her.

"Alright. First thing. Wanna show ya how ta break away if someone grabs ya wrist," Daryl said.

She nodded, her breath catching slightly as Daryl reached forward to wrap his fingers around her wrist.

"I want'cha ta show me how ya would break outta this," He urged.

Carol tugged on her wrist, but his grip was surprisingly firm. Frowning, she twisted her wrist and then tried to yank away again. It was harder than it looked and Daryl didn't even appear to be trying to struggle to hold her.

She bit her lip, "Alright. I guess I can't," She admitted.

He nodded, his forehead creased in concentration.

"I want ya to step inta me, bringing yer elbow down and pulling yer wrist upwards. Lemme' show ya."

He came forward, his hands positioning her elbow the way he had instructed and then showing her how to push it up and break the hold.

"Got it?" He asked.

Carol nodded, "I think so."

"Alright. Let's practice it then."

Daryl grabbed her wrist and nodded to her. Sucking in a deep breath, Carol stepped into him, bringing her elbow down and her wrist closer to her body before pushing it up and out of his hold. She stared in surprise at the fact that it had actually been that simple. She would have never guessed to do that on her own.

"Wow. I never knew it could be that easy," She commented.

He smiled, "Wanna try it again?"

She nodded and they practiced the move a few more times until Carol was confident that she had it mastered. She was actually finding the whole process interesting and it was something that she hadn't ever really thought about seriously before even though she knew that she should have.

"What next?" She asked.

He smirked, "Eager are we?"

She blushed, "Just curious."

"Gonna show ya how ta get away if someone has ya pinned to tha floor," He said.

She studied him curiously, "Where did you learn all of this anyway?"

He blushed, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, "Merle," He admitted. "He taught me a lotta shit believe it or not."

Carol nodded. That made a lot of sense and she could see Merle doing that.

"So where do I need to be?"

He gestured to the floor, "Lie down on yer back."

She swallowed as she did as instructed. Daryl straddled her hips, his hips flush with hers in an uncomfortably intimate position. She tried to ignore how cute he looked perched above her and focus on the lesson instead, but it was hard. He was very distracting.

"Alright. So if ya find yerself pinned an' some bastard's got his hands on ya, holdin' ya to tha floor then I'm gonna show ya how to roll out of it."

He placed his hands on her shoulders, holding her to the floor firmly. His hands were warm and large over the cotton of her t-shirt.

"Now I want'cha ta grab me 'round tha wrist with ya right hand an' with ya left grab me behind the elbow."

Carol did as he instructed, his hand moving hers a couple of inches to the location that he wanted it to be.

"Take yer left foot an' push it behind mine an' lift ya hips to tha left ta roll me off balance," Daryl nodded at her to go and she did as instructed, pushing him off balance so that she was rolled on top of him.

Now she was straddling him intimately and she could feel her skin growing hot. He seemed to sense the subtle shift in the air and they both became somewhat frozen in position. She cleared her throat, her eyes drifting to his lips and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him. His eyes bored into hers almost as if he were reading her thoughts. She hoped that he couldn't. His hands were resting on her hips and his thumbs were grazing the flesh of her stomach where her shirt had ridden up slightly. The sensation of having someone touch her there was not something that she was used to, but she really liked it. Carol found herself leaning down towards his lips. His eyes had darkened considerably, but he made no motions to stop her. Her hands slid slowly over his t-shirt, feeling his muscles underneath it. Her brain had lost all ability to form coherent thought as her breathing became shallow.

The sound of the oven timer buzzing loudly into the silence of the room had her sitting straight up with a startled expression. Daryl's hands left her hips and she quickly climbed off of him as he pushed himself to a sitting position. He ran a hand through his hair as she fiddled with her shirt not really knowing what to say.

"I guess that means dinner is ready. Why don't you take a seat and I'll bring it out?" She said quickly before moving to the oven.

She donned an oven mitt and removed the lasagna from the oven, the wonderful scent filling the room as she took it to the kitchen table. Daryl followed her into the kitchen.

"Can I help ya?"

Carol reached into the cabinet and pulled out two plates and forks to hand to him, "Why don't you take these and I'll get us something to drink?"

He nodded, quickly leaving the room and Carol took a moment to rest her hands against the counter and catch her breath. What had almost happened out there? She shook her head as she tried to gather her thoughts. Daryl was her best friend, not her boyfriend. Except her body didn't seem to understand that whenever he was anywhere close to her and she didn't know what to do about that. Drawing in a ragged breath, she stared at the counter, her eyes fixating on a bottle of wine that had been a Christmas gift from Rachel. Carol had never opened it and it had been sitting there for quite some time. Drumming her fingers on the counter she stared at it. She moved to the other cabinet and grabbed two glasses, swiping the wine bottle on her way out. A little wine wouldn't hurt and she could really use the release.

...

"I'm also double jointed in my fingers too. Check this shit," Daryl said as he flexed his fingers to prove it.

Carol made a face, giggling at him as she took another sip of her wine. Daryl was feeling pretty good right about now, but looking at Carol he could tell that she was feeling especially ripe. Apparently she didn't have a very high tolerance for alcohol at all, whereas Daryl was just feeling more relaxed now than he had before. They were sitting on the bed facing each other, their legs stretched towards each other. Carol was working on the last glass of wine and Daryl wasn't exactly sure how many she had had already. He was figuring that he should have cut her off before now though.

"Ya feelin' that wine, huh?" Daryl asked with a smirk.

Carol shot him a look, "I'll have ya know that I'm perfectly fine. In fact, I can one up your double joints," She said haughtily. Raising her leg straight into the air, she brought it to flush against her chest without a problem.

Daryl gaped at her, but it wasn't because of her flexibility. No, that was great, but what had him staring was the view it afforded him. Before he could think too much about it, Carol swung her leg back down, nearly knocking him in the face with her foot. She began to laugh, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks flushed. He found himself thinking about earlier and how she had been leaning over him. He had been sure that she was going to kiss him and he had frozen, not really knowing how to proceed. Part of him had wanted it, but the other part of him had been unsure of what to do. Women were not his specialty and he hadn't ever really had a woman he had even been remotely into like Carol. Except Carol hadn't ever really felt like a woman to him until she had grown up. Now it was all he could do not to stare at her.

"Ya know I could be arrested or somethin' for this shit right?" He smiled.

Carol wrinkled her brow, "Why? Is it illegal to eat lasagna?"

Daryl chuckled, shaking his head, "Yer a minor. Ya ain't s'posed ta be drinkin," He paused. "How in tha hell ya get wine anyway?"

She giggled, "Rachel gave it to me for Christmas. She thought it might help relax me."

She turned to Daryl and smiled at him, bringing her feet up and placing them in his lap. He glanced down at them warily.

She wiggled her toes, "It helped. I'm relaxed!"

"Ya don't say," Daryl muttered dryly.

Carol snickered, "Yep!"

She leaned her head back over the side of the bed with a sigh. Daryl watched her with a bemused expression. It was sad to say the least that this was probably the most relaxed that he had been in a long time. He placed his hands on her feet, rubbing his fingers firmly over the arch of her foot.  
Carol let out a moan, sliding her foot closer to him. He chuckled, shaking his head at her.

"Oh God, don't stop Daryl," She moaned.

He paused, the tone of her voice echoing through his body and making him shift a little. This was the first time that he had ever massaged a woman's feet before and he knew next to nothing about it. Apparently he was doing something right though, judging from the way her whole body had gone lax and her lips were parted. He didn't know what in the hell he was doing here or why he had suddenly felt the need to touch her, but he had. Touching people wasn't his thing so that was surprising to him to say the least. Then again, Carol had always been different for him. She had been the only person that he had ever opened up to besides his brother, but he didn't really count Merle in that aspect because Merle had lived through the same shit that he had.

"Gonna have ta split soon. Gotta get up early in tha mornin' for work," Daryl commented.

He glanced over at her. She was still in the same position she had been in a few minutes ago and Daryl set her foot aside to lean forward.

"Carol?"

Sure enough her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply. Chuckling to himself he sighed and then glanced around the apartment. Climbing to his feet, he walked around the bed to gently slide her so that her head was on the pillow. Grabbing up a blanket that was sitting on top of a chest at the foot of the bed, he spread it over her gently. She barely stirred, but she did close her mouth and Daryl smiled at that. Scratching his head, he wondered if he should leave her a note, but he didn't see any paper anywhere. He moved into the kitchen and spotted a small dry erase board on the fridge. He picked up the marker and scribbled out a message to her, hoping that she would see it whenever she awakened. He had no idea if she had classes in the morning, but he slid the alarm on for her alarm clock anyway, figuring she could switch it back off if she didn't need it. He pulled on his boots and grabbed his backpack, pausing by the bed on his way out.

"Sleep well," He murmured before he exited the apartment, making sure to twist the lock before closing the door behind him.

...

**Review? :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi! I hope everyone is having a good night (or day) wherever you are! Sorry it's taken me nearly all day to get this chapter out even though I knew what I wanted to write. I've been so darn tired all day and I just can't seem to shake it off today. Tomorrow is likely to be another slow day to update for me as well. Depending on where my muse takes me, I might be back at this one to try and update again. I'm just falling in love with this fic! I enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoy reading it just as much. Thanks go to HaloHunter89 for being my sounding board the other day.  
**

**Enjoy! ;)**

...

Carol walked into work on Friday night with a lot more enthusiasm than she felt. Her alarm had awoken her that morning and she had somehow managed to turn it off, nearly missing her classes. Daryl had already been gone and she wasn't sure how long he had stayed or how she had managed to get into bed exactly. She had thoroughly enjoyed spending time with him the night before and she was felt like they were starting to get comfortable with each other again after being away from each other for so long. She just hoped that he hadn't been mad about her falling asleep or anything. She was curious if he might stop by the bar later.

She barely had much time to think about him though because as soon as she got settled in good to help Rachel it began to get really crowded as people began to pour into the bar. Carol found herself passing out drink after drink and even politely turning down one request for her phone number. She barely got a chance to say more than two words to Rachel and she didn't get to slow down until two hours later. The crowd was starting to thin some, but there were still a good bit of people inside. Carol grabbed a bottle of water and chugged down half of it, wondering wearily if she would make it until one AM when her shift ended.

"I think I'm dying," Carol groaned to Rachel as they both stole a moment to themselves behind the bar.

Rachel grinned, "Long night last night?"

Carol rubbed her forehead, "Not in the way you think. I finally put that bottle of wine you gave me to good use. Only I think it affected me a lot more than Daryl," She commented.

"You don't drink so your alcohol tolerance is probably pretty low," Rachel said as she worked to stack more clean glasses up front.

Carol shrugged, "You're probably right. I'm feeling it today though with my classes and then coming here. I need a nap," She chuckled softly.

Rachel smiled at her before her attention was taken by a customer at her end of the bar and Carol moved away to clean up a dirty glass on the opposite end that had been left behind. Sighing as she picked up a wet napkin with a sliver of a half eaten lime on top of it, she urged time to speed up with her mind.

"Tired?" A familiar voice asked.

Carol glanced up and then her heart dropped. Rick sat on the stool directly in front of her, smiling lightly at her. His smile didn't quite meet his eyes though and Carol figured that had a lot to do with her. She had completely forgotten about Rick and their date in the midst of Daryl coming around. She had stood Rick up and she was feeling really bad about it in that moment.

She offered him a small smile, "A little...how are you?"

He shrugged, "I'm alright."

Carol sighed, "Rick-"

He held up a hand, "You don't have to explain anything to me Carol. It's okay," He said.

She shook her head, "No. It isn't okay. I stood you up. I feel horrible, completely horrible."

He chuckled and reached across the bar, taking her hand in his. He rubbed his thumb lightly over her knuckles. The sensation was nice, but she couldn't keep from comparing it to Daryl's hands and how they had felt when he had touched her. She was so entranced in her thoughts and watching him that she jumped when someone cleared their throat a few feet away. Snatching her hand back from Rick as if she had been burned, Carol turned around. Daryl was perched upon a bar stool two stools down from Rick. His eyes flicked up to hers as soon as she turned around, but she didn't miss the direction that they had strayed from. He had been looking at Rick holding her hand in his and for some reason Carol felt guilty for letting Rick do that.

Gesturing at Daryl to give her a moment, she turned back to Rick, "Can I get you anything?"

"I'll just have a beer," Rick said, his voice taking on a different tone.

Carol nodded, "Be right back."

She stepped over to Daryl as she fished into the cooler for Rick's beer. He was staring at her with a small smile playing at the corner's of his lips and she felt herself smiling back at him in return. She chuckled finally and shook her head.

"I'm sorry I passed out on you," She said softly.

He shrugged, "Didn't peg ya for a drinker no way," He toyed with the cardboard coasters, his eyes glancing over at Rick before coming back to her. "Ya look tired," He commented.

She nodded, running a hand over her face, "I am. I would have missed class this morning if you hadn't set my alarm though. Thank you."

Daryl nodded, "Ain't no big deal. Ya had any problems tonight?" He raised his brows and Carol flushed as she remembered their training session.

She shook her head, "No...Can I get you anything to drink or eat?"

"Jack and Coke?" He asked.

She smiled and nodded at him, "Coming right up."

Carol brought Rick his beer, his eyes boring into hers intently as she sat it down in front of him. She started to move away to fix Daryl's drink, but Rick grabbed her hand.

"When you get a minute I would love to talk to you," He said.

"Okay. I should be able to take a break in a few minutes since it's slowing down."

Carol quickly fixed Daryl's drink and set it down in front of him where he lifted his eyes to hers and nodded his thanks. She tried not to blush again before hurrying off to take care of a few customers for Rachel who was busy out on the floor. Her gaze kept straying back to the two men who were shooting glances at each other and Carol bit her lip. It was looking to be a long night.

…...

Daryl couldn't keep from cutting his eyes at Rick. He didn't really care for the guy much and he hadn't ever really done anything to Daryl, but for some reason he still irritated him. Every time he caught Rick looking at Carol as she moved around the bar he got angry. He wasn't even sure why he got angry but he did. Maybe it was the way Rick had been holding her hand when he had entered the bar that had made him angry. He told himself that he didn't have any right to be angry with the guy and that he was just being a concerned friend, but he knew he was lying to himself. He was attracted to Carol and he couldn't deny it to himself. Finishing off his drink, he waited for Carol to head back in his direction.

She looked good tonight he thought as he let his eyes stray over her as she walked back and forth delivering drinks and food. She had on a pair of khaki pants with a purple shirt that seemed as if it had been made specifically for her. He wasn't used to seeing women dressed nicely without showing off everything they had, but he was liking the refreshing change that was Carol. Finally she got a free moment and headed back over in his direction.

"Done already?" She asked with a smile.

He nodded, "I'll take another when ya get a minute please. No rush though," He said.

She grabbed the empty glass and went to work on another for him. Setting it back down on the counter, his hand brushed hers as he reached for the glass. He felt the electric jolt straight down to his groin at the contact. He kept his face carefully blank, but he didn't miss her slight intake of breath or the dash of color that bloomed in her cheeks.

"How are your classes going?"

Daryl turned his head in the direction of Rick, watching as Carol moved further down the bar in the man's direction. He could have sworn that Rick looked smug about taking Carol's attention away from him, but he couldn't be sure. Frowning to himself, Daryl scowled into his drink, tipping the glass back to drown himself with the dark colored liquid as he listened to their conversation.

"Pretty well I think. I should be able to graduate in a couple of years as long as I stay on top of my classes. Sometimes it's hard though juggling classes and a job. You seem like you handle it pretty well," Carol said.

Rick chuckled and Daryl scowled at the sound, "Looks can be deceiving," Rick replied. "It's definitely hard work and with little time for a social life. Maybe we can reschedu-"

"Hey Carol," Daryl called out as he set his empty glass down on the counter, effectively cutting off Rick's sentence.

Carol excused herself from Rick and walked back over to him. He scrambled for something to say. He hadn't really thought it through when he had called her over. He had just wanted to stop Rick from asking her out again. Now she was back in front of him looking at him expectantly.

"Yeah?" She asked.

Daryl cleared his throat, his fingers toying with his empty glass as he scrambled for something to say to her that would justify him calling her over.

"I was jus' gon' say I'd wait for ya ta get off tonight bein' it's gonna be late an' I'll walk ya home if ya want?"

Carol smiled at him and it struck Daryl again how beautiful she was, even more so when she smiled.

"Are you sure you don't mind? I mean, it's not that far..."

Daryl shook his head quickly, "Ain't no problem," He replied.

Her face brightened, "Okay, yeah that sounds good," She glanced down at his glass, "Want a refill?"

Daryl nodded, his eyes cutting to Rick who was now scowling at them. They locked eyes as Carol walked away and Daryl could feel the tension radiating between them.

Rick nodded his head at him, "Smooth, real smooth."

"Yeah? I thought so," Daryl snapped.

"I'm guessing she was with you when we were supposed to be out on our date last night?" Rick asked him.

Daryl glanced around the bar, spotting Carol at the other end helping a customer. He turned his attention back to Rick, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette and lighting it. He took a puff before responding, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air.

"Yep," He replied. "Guess she was preoccupied, ya know?"

Rick huffed and cut his eyes at Daryl. Picking up his beer bottle, he moved down the two empty seats between them and slid onto the stool directly next to Daryl.

"So tell me, what could you possibly offer her? I could treat her right and you could treat her to what, the dollar menu at McDonald's?" Rick smirked.

Daryl clenched his teeth together and perched his cigarette on the edge of an ashtray. The alcohol that he had consumed was running through his veins, full speed ahead and he wasn't going to sit there and let some uptight, rich, college kid talk down to him.

Daryl stood up between the stools, staring down at Rick with a deadly gleam in his eye.

Rick glanced up at him, "What? You gonna punch me?"

Daryl smiled coldly, "Nah. I'm figurin' you gonna punch me first," He said.

Rick chuckled and shook his head, "Not happening."

Daryl reached across the counter with his hand, "accidentally" knocking over Rick's beer, the liquid running into his lap. Rick jumped up, his chest heaving and he glared at Daryl. The two men stepped close to each other, their chests touching as they faced off in the bar. Daryl's nostrils flared as he stared Rick down. Rick stared back at him intently and the bar grew quieter as the remaining people inside began to take notice.

"What is going on over here?" Carol said loudly as she walked over to the two men, pushing her way in between them.

Daryl stepped backwards when Carol placed her hand upon his chest, her touch gentle but firm. She glanced up at him curiously and then over to Rick who had also taken a step back.

"Well? Are you both mute?" Carol prodded.

Rick was the first to speak up, clearing his throat as he looked at Carol, "It was my fault. I said some things to push his buttons and I take full responsibility," Rick looked at Daryl, "I'm sorry man."

Daryl narrowed his eyes as Carol nodded and then looked to him, but it was Rick that Daryl was staring at. Rick was smirking at Daryl over his head.

"Daryl?" Carol asked softly.

He felt his expression soften as he looked at her. She really did look tired and he felt bad about causing a scene in the bar where she worked.

"Forget it. It's done," Daryl's voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking the underlying menace in his tone.

There was no way in hell that he would apologize to Rick. He didn't care what anyone said. The man was an asshole and Daryl hoped like hell she wasn't interested in the guy. Carol sighed and glanced between the two of them. She finally looked at Rick.

"Maybe you should go," She suggested softly.

Daryl raised his brows in surprise as did Rick, but finally Rick nodded and without another word, left the bar. Daryl had to bite his lip not to grin smugly.

Carol pointed her finger at him, "You go sit. I left your drink there," She said firmly.

Daryl nodded and headed for the bar, not wanting to argue with her. "And Daryl?" He glanced back over his shoulder at her, "Try to behave, okay?" She smiled lightly as she said that last part and Daryl smiled at her in return.

...

"Come on. This way," Carol snickered as she guided a very drunk Daryl into her apartment.

It had been sweet for him to offer to walk her home, but she had more or less held him up and kept him from veering off the sidewalk all of the way to her apartment. She had no idea where he lived so she couldn't take him to his place, wherever it was. She had figured on him staying the night since it was almost one thirty in the morning now and she had barely gotten him to her place without him falling.

Daryl stumbled inside of her apartment and made a beeline for her bed where he sat down heavily, almost misjudging the distance and landing on his ass instead. Carol bit back a laugh and he glanced over at her.

"Ya find'n me a...a...funny?" He slurred.

Carol shook her head, "Of course not. I think you need some sleep though."

He waved a hand nonchalantly through the air, "Ha! Sleep's fer puh...pussies. I'm superman."

Now she did laugh out loud, "Okay superman. Let's get your boots off so you can lie down."

She kneeled before him and he was silent as she began unlacing his boots. She tugged off one boot and set it to the side before working on the other. She jumped when she felt his fingers tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.

She sucked in a breath, "Daryl?"

His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, but they still held that same intensity when he stared at her, "So fuckin' beautiful," He murmured.

She offered him a smile, "Thanks," She blushed a little as she bent back down to his other boot.

He leaned backwards on the bed and she tugged that boot off, picking them both up and moving them out of the way. When she came back over to the bed his eyes were closed, his chest rising and falling with his deep breathing. He looked so boyish and peaceful in his sleep that the image he presented tugged on her heartstrings a little. She didn't bother messing with any of his clothes because she wasn't sure she was strong enough to move him around anyway. She did manage to lift his legs and swing them up onto the bed. He twitched in his sleep, but didn't awaken.

Carol moved about the small apartment, going about her normal bedtime routine. After double checking the locks, she pulled back the blankets on her bed and slid underneath them, reaching to her bedside table to turn out the light. She lay there listening to Daryl's deep and even breathing for several minutes before turning her body towards him and scooting as close as possible without draping herself over him. Sighing she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

...

**What do you think? :)**

...


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi everyone! Got another chapter out for you...wanted to move this one right along and I hope you like it. I'm worried about this chapter, but I'll have more notes at the end...  
**

...

Carol scratched at her cheek, slowly stirring awake at the feel of hair tickling her face. She blinked, slowly coming to awareness. There was a naked bare chest curled up next to her and it took her several long minutes to process that Daryl was in the bed with her. He also seemed to be shirtless and she slowly let her eyes drift down his body. When she saw that his pants were still on, she let out a little breath, thanking God that she didn't have that temptation in front of her. She lifted her head to glance over at the clock and saw that it was only four in the morning. She didn't have classes this morning, but she did have to go to work later in the day and she was so tired. Her brain was refusing to cooperate though as she tried to snuggle back into the blankets and go to sleep. She rolled over and attempted to shut her mind off. She couldn't seem to shake the image of Daryl's bare chest and his muscular arms from her head.

He shifted behind her and suddenly one of those fabulous muscular arms slid around her waist. Freezing, Carol held her breath as he pulled her into him, his breathing still deep. She tried to wiggle away slightly but that only succeeded in nestling her right against his morning wood and she gasped at the feeling of it pressing against her from behind. His arm tensed and his breathing grew silent, indicating that he was now aware of the situation if he hadn't been before. He slowly lifted his arm and attempted to move away from her when Carol turned around to face him.

"I'm awake," She whispered.

His eyes shone in the dark and she imagined that if they could see each other well then they would both be red faced. His large hand was still resting on her hip and the sensation of it lying there was very nice.

Daryl worked to clear his throat, "Sorry 'bout that. Weren't tryin' ta...ta..." He let his voice trail off.

She shook her head, "It's okay. I understand."

They were both lying in the bed facing each other in an incredibly intimate position, but neither of them were trying to move away from the other.

"I don't even 'member gettin' back here," Daryl commented, "Ya got me back here all by yaself?"

Carol nodded, "You were pretty wasted, but you could still walk."

Daryl frowned, his features tightening in the dim light from the streetlight that cast a faint glow inside of her bedroom. He flexed his fingers slightly, the tips softly digging into her hip. She involuntarily moved her hips forward and she heard his breath catch.

"Ya want me ta go? I think I'm alright ta walk back home," He whispered, his voice low and gravelly.

"No," She whispered quickly and then paused at her eagerness, "Stay."

She lifted her hand slowly between them, placing it against his cheek and feeling the slight stubble there from where he would need to shave. His face tensed beneath her touch and he closed his eyes, softening his breathing. Carol shifted forward and slowly pressed her lips to his. His were cool and firm beneath hers and at first he didn't respond, but she pushed onward, hoping that he wouldn't be put off by her attempt to kiss him. After a minute he parted his lips slightly and their kiss deepened. Carol had kissed other guys before, but this felt different and not in a bad way. Daryl wasn't aggressive at all about the kiss and for a while they just lay there, working their tongues in and out of each others mouth. His hand felt like it was burning a hole into her skin where it still rested upon her hip and she wanted to feel it running over the rest of her body. She reached around and placed her hand on the top of his, guiding it up and placing it over her breast, her heart thundering so hard in her chest that she was sure it would burst through her skin. Daryl stopped kissing her as soon as she placed his hand there. He pulled back a little and she could feel him staring at her in the dark.

"Carol?" He asked hoarsely.

She swallowed through a lump in her throat, "If you don't want to it's okay. I...I want to feel you," She whispered.

A small groan escaped his lips and he flexed his fingers lightly, his thumb grazing over her nipple slowly. She arched forward, her breathing quickening. He leaned forward, his forehead touching hers, his breath blowing a warm caress over her face. He didn't remove his hand.

"I don't..." He made a frustrated sound deep in his throat, "I don't know what I'm doin'."

Carol's heart swelled at that statement and what it must mean for him to admit it.

"It's okay. I don't either," She smiled and he chuckled lightly, sucking in a deep breath as he went.

He moved his hand from her breast and shifted so that he was propped up on one elbow. He threw one leg over hers and lifted her arm to rain light kisses down her skin. Each touch of his lips sent her heart into palpitations and she flexed her toes as the sensations ran straight through her body. He worked his way up her arm, stopping at her shirt sleeve and moving to her neck where he lightly ran his tongue over her skin.

She shivered, "Where did you learn that then?"

He paused and snorted, "A movie."

She giggled and pressed her face into his bare chest. His smell was intoxicating and she breathed in his scent deep into her lungs. The stubble on his chin scraped gently on the side of her face as he dipped his head. She stuck her tongue out, copying his movements and licked one long stroke across his collarbone and up his throat. His flesh was salty and she was growing very lightheaded with desire. He rolled so that he was hovering over her, his eyes searching her face with intent.

"Touch me Daryl. Make me feel pleasure," She breathed.

He closed his eyes and emitted a low groan, "God Carol."

She leaned forward and wiggled her shirt up and over her head, dropping it casually over the side of the bed to the floor. She grabbed his hands and placed them over her breasts, both of them breathing harshly. He stayed rigidly still for several moments before rubbing both thumbs over her nipples. She moaned and arched into his touch.

"Ya like that?" He whispered.

Carol nodded, "Yes."

He continued to stroke his thumbs over her nipples, rolling them between his fingers. Finally he bent his head and closed his mouth over one of her nipples, raking his tongue over the pert bud. Carol's hands went to his hair and she tangled her fingers into it, tugging on it as she fought the wave of sensations. He responded by sucking harder and she felt like she might die from the sheer pleasure she was feeling. Her hands moved down to her shorts that she was sleeping in and she fumbled with the elastic waist, trying to shimmy out of them. He lifted, looking down between them.

"What ya doin'?" He mumbled.

"Take your pants off," Carol panted in reply.

Daryl glanced back up at her and then shrugged, "Alright."

He stood up and began undoing his belt buckle, button, and then zipper before sliding his jeans down and off. Carol wished she could see him more clearly, but turning on the light would also show her and she was a little shy. He hooked his fingers into his boxers and slid them down next, revealing his completely nude form. Carol dropped her shorts and panties to the floor and Daryl crawled back onto the bed, leaning down to press a kiss to her belly. She giggled as his light scruff tickled her skin.

"Can I touch it?" Carol asked shyly.

Daryl bit his lip and then cursed under his breath, "Reckon' ya can 'bout damn do what'cha want with it an' it ain't gon' bother me. Within reason o' course," He said.

Carol reached between them and slid her hand over the length of him. His body tensed as her fingers closed around the velvety smooth skin of his engorged cock. She swallowed hard at how thick he was. He shuddered and she glanced up at him.

"I think ya better stop ya explorin'...for now," His voice was strained.

"Sorry," Carol murmured.

He trailed his hands over her body next, gliding them down and to the juncture of her thighs. He slowly inserted a finger inside of her and she bit her lip as her body worked to accommodate the intrusion. He began moving his finger around inside of her pussy and it slowly started feeling good so Carol felt herself relax. She ran her hands over his back, pausing slightly as she encountered the scars that were ingrained there.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he pressed a finger to her lips, "Don't," His voice was pleading and Carol slowly nodded.

Her heart ached for him and what he had endured. She wished she could have been there to tend to his wounds, but she hadn't and nothing could change that now. She worked to push those things from her mind and tried to live in the moment not the past.

He circled his finger slowly in and out of her slit, making her lay her head back onto the pillow and whimper.

"Ya gotta tell me when ya ready cause I don't know," Daryl whispered.

Carol wasn't sure she knew either, but her body was most certainly throbbing so she was pretty sure she was somewhere close to it.

"I think I'm ready," She panted.

He grabbed his cock in his hands and positioned himself over her, lowering himself down where his hands could guide himself inside of her. He entered her slowly, both of them holding their breath until he was as far as he could go. Carol began to tense at the slight twinge of pain. He pulled out a little faster and Carol hissed through her teeth.

"Ya alright?" Daryl asked in a low voice.

She breathed in deeply and then nodded, "Kiss me?"

He slid back into her, lowering his head to capture her lips once more. She could kiss him all night long, she thought. His lips were soft, sweet, and very giving. The pain passed, the uncomfortable feeling leaving with it and Carol began to grow more wet as Daryl continued to move inside of her. Her body began to hum, her insides clenching as she arched into him. Daryl's breathing was becoming more and more ragged. He bent his head and placed a soft kiss to her collarbone. The pleasure started at her feet, making her curl her toes before it spiraled to her core, causing her body to shake and tremble. Daryl groaned above her, his movements stilling as his cock pulsed inside of her. He pulled out slowly, both of them wincing, and collapsed onto the bed beside of her.

Carol hadn't anticipated sex making her so sleepy and she covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her yawn. She was still really tired from the day before. Daryl turned his head and their eyes met.

"Weren't too bad, was it?" He asked.

Carol shook her head, "It wasn't bad at all Daryl. I liked it," She lifted up to press a kiss to his cheek.

She felt herself beginning to drift and she struggled to stay awake, but she was quickly failing.

"I'm sorry 'bout earlier," He said. "Weren't tryin' ta cause no trouble."

"It's okay," She mumbled.

He chuckled, "Are ya fallin' asleep?"

She hummed in her throat as she yawned again, her eyelids closing on her, "Maybe you two just need to stay away from each other," She mumbled in her half-alert state, "Rick means well I think... Night," She said softly before sliding into a deep sleep.

...

Daryl lay there awake for a while after Carol drifted off, thinking about what had transpired between them and her spoken words about Rick. His mind was running too much for him to sleep so he eased himself out of the bed, glancing down to make sure that he didn't wake Carol up. She stirred and rolled, but didn't awaken. Daryl walked around her apartment, trying to wind down some. Spotting her textbooks on the kitchen counter he moved over to browse through them curiously. Upon opening the first book he was already lost as he skimmed the first paragraph. Shutting the book, a piece of paper fluttered out and he stared down at it as he picked it up. It was a list of goals that Carol had and Daryl started to put the paper back, not wanting to intrude into her personal space, but then the first item on the list caught his eye. She had listed 'finish school' at the top and added a side note that said, 'no distractions' off to the side with an arrow pointing at it. There were other things too like owning her own house and getting a job at a hospital, but it was the first part that struck a chord with him.

Placing the piece of paper back where he found it, he sighed. He wouldn't ever fit into her world when he didn't even really fit into his. Walking back over to the bed, he stared down at her sleeping form. She deserved so much better than he could ever give her. He silently gathered his clothing from the floor and dressed, pulling on his boots last. If he stuck around he would just be a distraction for her and that was the last thing that he wanted. She deserved to move on to finish school and do great things. She had high aspirations and Daryl had...well Daryl was a shop hand. It wasn't a glorious dream job by any means. Carol was in college doing great things and maybe she really did deserve a guy like Rick who had money to buy her the finer things in life. Who was he to stand in the way of that?

He ran a hand through his hair and shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling the familiar object that he always carried with him. Pulling it out he turned it over in his hands. It was a little worn after years of riding around in his pocket, but it was still recognizable. He felt the ache deep in his gut, but he knew this was for the best. She would thank him one day if they ever met up again. He would never regret his time with her though. Leaning over he placed the deer on the pillow that he had used where she would see it when she woke up in a few hours. He hoped that it would say everything that he wanted to say but couldn't. He didn't touch her again, but he stood there looking down at her, watching her sleep for a long time. Finally he forced his feet to move and he walked to her door, opening it quietly.

He paused with his hand on the doorknob, his fingers gripping the metal tightly. He wasn't sure how long he stood in the open doorway before finally pulling the door shut behind him, telling himself that he was doing her a favor the whole time.

...

**Okay...so I know it's major feels this chapter and right now my emotions are all over the place. But please don't kill me. I promise there's a reason for doing things this way. You just gotta let me get you there, LOL. I am worried that this won't come out the way I want it to though. I don't want Carol to seem like she doesn't care for Daryl...because she does and vice versa. I'll do my best to update again tomorrow, but in the meantime, please let me know your thoughts! They keep me going! **

**Thanks again for being wonderful reviewers :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Well so here we are. We have a bit of a time jump. Here we introduce Sophia and we get a glimpse into Carol's life. This will be the last major time jump so don't fret. I promise to try and explain everything. More notes to follow!**

...

_Nine years later... (This would make Carol 28 and Daryl 30 so you don't have to calculate :) )_

"Sophia! You're going to miss the bus!" Carol yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Comin' Mama!" Sophia yelled back, "Just finished my homework!"

Carol shook her head as the girl came rushing down the stairs.

"I thought you finished that last night?" Carol asked.

Sophia grinned and reached into the cabinet to grab a Pop-Tart for the bus ride to school.

"Well...I got sidetracked," Sophia admitted.

Carol sighed, but leaned over so that Sophia could plant a kiss upon her cheek before rushing out of the front door.

"Love you!" Carol called out just as the door slammed shut behind her daughter's fleeing form.

Carol walked over to the window, sipping on a cup of coffee, still in her pajamas as she watched Sophia make it to the bus just in time. The girl was always scrambling at the last minute.

Watching as the bus drove away, it was hard for Carol to believe that Sophia was nine years old already. Time had flown by a lot faster than she would have liked for it to. Some days it was hard juggling her job at the hospital with raising a child all by herself, but she managed okay. She would rather be single than still be married to Ed Peletier any day of the week. It had been seven years since she had left Ed and moved out of the city and into the country. She didn't regret a minute of it.

She sighed as she glanced at her watch. She had to get a move on if she was going to be on time for her shift at the hospital. She worked as an RN in the emergency room. The shifts were hard, especially since they cut into her time with Sophia, but Carol loved her job. She loved to help people and she found joy in getting to do that most every day. Sometimes she wished that she didn't work so much, especially on the days that she had to stay late at work, but the money she brought home kept her and Sophia comfortable and without a second income, she had to make do the best way that she knew how. On really rough days, she would remind herself over and over again that she was doing this for Sophia, so that they could have a good life. She wanted to give her so many things.

Carol set her empty coffee mug into the sink and headed down the hallway to her bathroom to step into the shower. She had found the little two story house completely by chance one day when she and Sophia had been driving around. They had both taken a liking to it instantly and the next thing she knew, she had signed the papers and was holding the key to their future in her hand. It had been a life altering experience for them both.

The house was a small two story with three bedrooms, the master bedroom located on the bottom floor. The two other rooms and a bathroom were upstairs. The downstairs held a living room, kitchen, master, and laundry room. The house wasn't anything fancy, but it was the nicest thing that Carol had ever owned. She was still in the process of trying to pay it off, but one day it would be both of theirs, free and clear. All things said, she was fairly content with her life such as it was now.

She stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, rubbing herself dry briskly before wrapping the thick cloth around her body. She padded into her bedroom and opened her closet to grab a pair of fresh scrubs from the hanger. She dressed slowly, glancing occasionally at her reflection in the full length mirror that stood in one corner of her room. She wasn't entirely fond of mirrors, but she had loved the way this one looked when she had spotted it at the antique store they had stopped at one day. Lately she had been looking at herself quite a bit, trying to become more comfortable in her own skin. For a while she had experienced some dark times in her life. The worst being the morning she had awoken to find that Daryl had left her. It had been a crushing blow and she had called out sick from work that evening, telling Rachel that she just couldn't make it in.

The deer had nearly done her in. The moment she had spotted it on the pillow next to her, the hot tears had flowed from her cheeks. She had rubbed the deer with her fingers slowly, not knowing that Daryl had repeated that very same gesture a million times when he had carried it around. It just felt right to hold it in her hands...she felt connected to him somehow when she touched it. Except she hadn't touched it in a long time. It sat on her dresser and her eyes fell upon it nearly every day, but she no longer touched it. She was working to get over the heartache and touching it brought back too many memories that were hard for her to remember without breaking down.

She had no idea what had happened to Daryl. Not knowing his address in the city or even where he worked, she hadn't had any way of locating him or even knowing if he was still in the area. Every night at work, she had looked towards the door of the bar every time it swung open, her breath hitching for that brief second before she realized that it was just another customer and not him. After a few weeks she had stopped looking, and that's when she had met Ed. Her heart had been vulnerable at the time and Ed had been quite charming when they first met. They had somewhat of a whirlwind of a romance and when she found out she was pregnant, Ed asked for her hand in marriage. Deep down in her gut, she had known that she wasn't happy, but she accepted anyway, hoping that the pain she felt would eventually fade. And it _had_ faded, but it was still there sometimes and on several occasions she had awakened Sophia at night with her nightmares. Her daughter didn't understand and Carol couldn't quite bring herself to explain it to the girl. To talk about it meant that she had to relive everything and she just didn't know if she could do that.

She finished dressing and moved to the bathroom to fix her hair. She never wore any makeup to work because in her line of work it wasn't necessary. She owned a little makeup, but she hardly ever used it. Her hair was shorter now than when she had been younger. In her rage towards Ed, she had chopped it all off because she knew how much he had liked it. Now she liked it shorter so much, she couldn't see letting it grow back out. It was easy and she rarely had to do anything more than apply gel or hairspray to it. Carol liked easy.

Satisfied that she had everything that she needed she headed down the stairs, picking up the phone to dial Mrs. Greene before heading out. The woman answered on the second ring and her warm voice made Carol smile.

"Hi honey! Are you off to work?" Jo Greene's cheery voice floated through the phone.

Carol smiled, "Yes ma'am. I might not make it home in time to see Sophia off of the bus. Can you-"

"Nonsense," Jo cut her off, "You know I love that child as if she were my own grandchild! You don't even have to ask. I'll bring her over here and we'll eat cookies while she does her homework and tells me all about those pesky boys at school."

Carol laughed, imagining Jo and Sophia doing just that. Josephine and Hershel Greene had been her neighbors since the first day she had moved in seven years ago. They were the two sweetest people on earth and they had adopted Carol and Sophia as their own even though they already had their own kids. Jo had been Carol's saving grace with Sophia and she could get the little girl to do most anything she asked. Sometimes Sophia could be quite the handful, getting into a scuffle with boys at school sometimes. Carol remembered the last time. She had had to leave from work to go to the school and pick up Sophia who had gotten into a fight with a boy in a whole grade higher than she was. Carol had been so angry with the girl, but when Sophia had said that she was just taking up for a younger boy who couldn't defend himself then Carol's anger had slowly melted. She couldn't be angry with the girl for protecting someone, not when it was something that Carol herself might have done.

"You're a lifesaver Jo. I shouldn't be too late. Is there anything I can bring you on my way home?" Carol asked.

Jo clucked her tongue, "You're a sly one. You know I won't accept anything resembling payment for watching that sweet girl," Jo said.

Carol shook her head with a smile, "Doesn't mean I won't keep trying," She chuckled. "I'll see you both this evening. Thanks a million Jo."

"Hush now. Get yourself on to work. I've got it covered. We'll save you some cookies if I can keep that sweet-tooth of a husband of mine from eating them," Jo laughed.

Carol hung up the phone and grabbed her purse and keys, ready to take on the day.

...

"I'm heading to the Chinese place down the street to pick up some lunch for everyone. Want anything?" Andrea popped her head around the desk to ask Carol.

Carol looked up from the paperwork she was filling out and bit her lip as she thought about it, "Teriyaki chicken and egg rolls?" She asked.

"Oh! And someone to massage my feet while you're at it," Carol added, "This is the first time I've gotten to sit down all day."

Andrea nodded, "I know. It's been crazy in here. But that's a typical Friday for you. I had to sign over an organ just to be able to go grab us some nourishment," She joked.

Carol smiled at her friend. They both looked the worse for wear. With the changes in the weather they had been having, more and more people had been coming in sick. It was mostly people who didn't have insurance or who couldn't make it through the weekend to see their regular doctor. Carol enjoyed being busy, but she also savored the few moments to sit and fill out the tedious paperwork that was required of her. A nurse's job was never done and sometimes they got little recognition for all of the extra things they did to ensure a patient's comfort. Carol was pretty good at calming most of them down, but Andrea excelled at it. Sometimes Carol called in her friend to help her with the grumpy patients. She figured it was Andrea's ability to adapt to most situations that made her so good at her job. Her supermodel figure surely didn't hurt at all either, especially with the men. Andrea had been proposed to and hit on so many times that Carol quit counting. It was quite humorous to see men who had been reduced to whining about being on their deathbed to perk up moments later at the sight of Andrea. It was remarkable at how quickly they toughened up and started feeling better.

Men were such babies about being sick Carol had observed over the years. Sometimes it made her glad that she didn't have to answer to anyone, but other times she longed to have someone to care for. She definitely wasn't ready to date anyone and she had been asked out herself several times. She was content with life the way it was with Sophia. She wasn't sure that there was room in their life for anyone else and she wasn't going to be bringing all kinds of men in and out of her daughter's life either.

"You okay?" Andrea came behind the desk to ask.

Carol nodded, rubbing her forehead lightly, "I'm just tired I guess."

"I feel your pain. Don't you have vacation time coming up?"

"Yeah. I'm going to wait until Sophia gets spring break at school before I take it though. I want us to be able to spend some time together," Carol said.

Andrea took a sip of her bottle of water, "Can't say as I blame you there. How is the little squirt?"

Carol snickered at Andrea's nickname for Sophia. Sophia made a face every time Andrea called her that, but she knew that secretly the girl didn't mind. Sophia and Andrea got along really well because Andrea was such a kid at heart.

"She's doing okay. I'm working on trying to get her into some sort of schedule. I just can't keep her inside of the house long enough."

"That kid loves the outdoors that's for sure. Hell I think she would live in a tent in your backyard if you let her," Andrea joked.

"Oh I'm sure she would. She's so bright. If only she would just apply herself then she would do so much better in school. I'm tired of getting notes sent home about how she doesn't pay attention in class. And it's usually because she's drawing something," Carol said in exasperation.

"Have you tried to take her art tools away as a type of punishment?" Andrea asked.

"No. It's hard. I would feel bad for taking away something that she gets so much joy from doing, but I think I'm going to have to. I see so much of myself in her when I was young. It's ridiculous," Carol muttered.

Andrea shook her head, "Sophia's a good kid. It could have been worse. You should have seen the kid I had down in four. You would have went home and kissed Sophia's feet, thanking the God's above that she was so good."

Carol laughed, "That's awful Andrea."

"I know it is. I really shouldn't talk bad about the kid, but she was so mouthy to her parents that I wanted to take her out back and smack her around a little and you know it has to be bad for me to say that," Andrea snorted. "Of course, I wouldn't ever do it, but the thought did cross my mind."

"You are so bad. Alright, I need to finish this paperwork before I have to do my rounds again," Carol said.

"Yep. I've got to go downstairs and sneak out Mission Impossible style. I'll be back!"

"I'll be here," Carol responded.

...

**I'm already halfway done with the next chapter before you ask, LOL. It will be a Daryl centric chapter. I hope no one is mad about the time jump. I will be going back a little as we move along and bringing up different things so that you all don't feel like you missed out or anything so bear with me! There is a reason for my madness! At least...I hope there is. LOL!**

**Review me and make me type faster! Just kidding...you don't have to review, but reviews are nice all the same. :) Thanks.**


	18. Chapter 18

"I swear if'n ya do that shit one more time," Daryl turned around to gripe as he rubbed the back of his head where Merle had just popped him.

"Ya ass needs ta wake up an' pay attention! Ya up an' missed that rabbit hop right in front o' ya! What tha hell brotha?" Merle asked.

Daryl sighed, "Sorry I guess I jus' blanked out," He muttered. "Won't happen again."

He and Merle had left out early this morning, just before daylight to hunt a few hours before work, but Daryl wasn't as focused as he usually was and it was making Merle even more irritable than he already was.

Merle sucked his teeth, eyeing his brother closely, "Ya thinkin' 'bout 'er again, aren't ya?"

Daryl huffed out a breath, turning to head back towards his house, "No."

Merle snorted, "Ya can't pull tha wool over tha eyes of yer older brotha. It's yer own damn fault fer leavin' 'er ass!"

Daryl paused midstep and turned around to face Merle, "I'll admit I coulda handled shit differently. I fuckin' panicked alright?"

Merle shook his head sadly, "Ya ain't never gon' be able ta move on, are ya?"

"Who said I want ta fuckin' move on? I've tried ta find 'er! There ain't no damn Carol Halcomb's in tha fuckin' phone book!" Daryl yelled.

He had spent a lot of time looking for Carol, but his search always seemed to leave him empty-handed. He regretted leaving her the way he had that night, but at the time it had just seemed like the best thing for the both of him. He liked to think that he had done a lot of growing up in the time since he had last seen her. He had even asked Rachel about her, but Rachel and Carol had lost contact over the years and Rachel didn't know how to get in touch with Carol anymore. It frustrated Daryl to no end, but he supposed that he deserved it with the way he had left things. He just wished that he could find her and see how she was doing. Instead he had pulled a Merle Dixon and this was what he had to show for it. He had managed to make himself a decent life, but he was alone.

"Guess ya ass is jus' up shit creek without a paddle," Merle shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

Daryl growled at his brother, knowing that he was wrong for taking out his frustrations on him.

"What's goin' on with you? Rachel mad at ya for somethin'?" Daryl asked him.

Merle spit over his shoulder, his expression turning into a scowl, "She's mad at my ass cause Cole said tha word shit tha other day. Her ass cusses too so I don't know why she's all over my shit! Won't hurt tha boy ta say a few dirty words. Hell I was sayin' worse shit than that at his age," Merle griped.

Daryl rolled his eyes at his brother's rant. He knew that Rachel and his brother were likely to have made up come dinnertime or even a couple of hours from now. They routinely argued and ranted about each other, but Daryl knew that his brother was hooked. He could see it in his eyes even if Merle didn't want to admit it. Rachel loved Merle as well and Daryl gave her kudos for being able to tolerate his brother like she did.

Rachel and Merle had been living together for about six years, ever since Merle had learned of his son's existence. Cole was the product of a one night stand between Rachel and Merle on one of Merle's stints at home from the military. Once Rachel had discovered she was pregnant, she had attempted to find Merle, but with him being in the military she had never been able to locate him. Somehow or another, the two ended up running into each other and that's when Merle had discovered that he was a father. Cole had been six years old at the time that Merle had learned of his existence and it had been hard for Merle to connect with the boy at first. Slowly though, their relationship had improved tremendously and now they got along fairly well. Daryl was proud of his brother for stepping up and so far Merle seemed to be doing a decent job with his nephew.

"We takin' tha weekend off, right?" Merle asked from somewhere behind him as they made their way back towards their homes.

"Yeah. We ahead o' schedule so I think we can afford a break. Tha guys have been workin' hard and deserve some time off," Daryl replied.

Daryl had started up Dixon Brothers Construction with Merle four years ago and he and his brother had been building up the company ever since. It had worked out fairly well for them and they had two crews that they ran. Merle was in charge of one and Daryl was over the other. It had taken Daryl a long time to get to where he was today and a lot of hard work as well, but it had finally paid off. They were pulling in a decent profit and together they had purchased ten acres of land. They had built their houses from the ground up and they were spaced far enough apart that they didn't have to see each other unless they wanted to. The ten acres afforded them the convenience to hunt in virtually their own backyard which was something they both enjoyed.

"Rachel wanted me ta invite ya ass over fer dinner later," Merle said this as if it were simply a statement instead of an invitation.

Daryl nodded, "Ain't never turned down free food before. Reckon' I'll be there. What time?"

Merle shrugged, "Hell I don't know. Pro'bly six or six thirty. Jus' come over whenever. I gotta have a talk with Cole 'bout his language an' I ain't lookin' forward to it. How in tha hell ya s'posed ta tell a kid not ta do somethin' you do all tha damn time?" Merle shook his head in confusion.

Daryl didn't know what to tell his brother in times like these. Daryl didn't have a girlfriend, much less a kid.

"I don't know. Don't see as how him sayin' it is hurtin' nothin'."

"She says tha school might suspend him if he says it in class," Merle explained with a sigh.

"Oh. Well tell his ass not ta say it in class then!"

Merle turned on his heel and began heading for his house, "I can't wait til ya have kids brotha," He muttered as he walked away. "Ain't as easy as ya think it is."

...

Daryl was still damp from his shower after work when he pulled his truck up at his brother's place later that evening. He could see several lights on inside of the house and as he approached the door he could hear them talking. Usually he would just walk on in if he knew that Rachel wasn't home, but this time he knocked twice before entering just in case. He didn't want to take the chance of seeing anything that couldn't be unseen later. Rachel was standing at the stove talking to Merle and Cole was sitting at the kitchen table looking glum. Daryl chuckled at the boy's sulking expression. Merle must have had that talk with him already.

Merle and Rachel glanced over at him as he took his boots off by the door, but continued on with their conversation. Cole's eyes lit up as he spotted Daryl though.

"Uncle Daryl!" Cole yelled out.

Daryl smiled fondly at the boy. He was slowly getting used to the idea of being an uncle. It helped that the kid was so easy to be around as well. He walked over to Cole, bumping fists with the boy as was their signature greeting. Pulling out a chair to sit, he glanced over his shoulder at Merle and their eyes met. He looked slightly annoyed and Daryl figured that they must be discussing something important that clearly didn't sit well with Merle.

"So how's things been goin'?" Daryl asked Cole.

Cole slumped forward in his chair, his face falling some as he rested his chin on his hands.

"I'm sure Dad's already told you what happened?" Cole asked.

Daryl nodded. He didn't see any reason to lie to the kid. One of the things he liked most about Cole was the honesty between them. Cole was very mature for a twelve year old.

"Yeah, he did. Ya can't go 'round sayin' stuff like that at school buddy," Daryl said.

Cole rolled his eyes, "You guys say that kinda stuff all tha time though! Heck, I've heard Dad spout off a lot worse," He grumbled.

Daryl nodded. The kid had a point. Merle wasn't exactly known for his ability to hold his tongue in any given situation. Although he had gotten a lot more tame over the years he was still Merle and Daryl figured he was about as good as he was going to get considering where he started.

"Yeah, but ya can't say that kinda stuff at school. They ain't too fond o' those words," Daryl explained.

Cole snorted, "Yeah you're tellin' me!"

"What you two conspirin' 'bout over here?" Merle said as he handed Daryl a beer before sitting down across from them with his own.

"Don't worry. I ain't said nothin' bad," Cole told his Dad.

Daryl smirked as he looked back and forth between the two. Cole favored Rachel more with his light brown hair and narrow face, but his eyes were definitely a Dixon trademark. They were a piercing blue color that seemed to run in the Dixon blood. Cole favored Merle with his attitude and some days Daryl had to do a double take at how much alike they acted.

Daryl felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced up to see Rachel smiling at him, "Okay boys, dinner is ready. Daryl I made lasagna and I already put some to the side for you to take back home later," She said.

Daryl nodded, "Thanks."

"How come ya don't do that shit for me?" Merle griped, but his tone was light.

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him and then winked at Daryl, "Because Daryl is my favorite, that's why."

Merle made a growling noise and came after her around the table, sending her squealing before he picked her up and whispered something in her ear. She turned three shades of red, swatting at Merle's arms that were wrapped around her.

Daryl passed by them, shaking his head as he grabbed himself a plate, "Get a room."

Merle glanced over at Cole who was already helping himself to some of the lasagna before shooting Daryl the finger. Daryl elbowed Cole as he walked up next to him for some food.

"Gonna work on tha bike some tomorrow. Gonna come help me?" Daryl asked.

He had been working on an old bike that he had bought off of someone who was just going to scrap it at the junkyard. Daryl had been spending his free time slowly working on getting new parts for it and fixing it up. Cole had taken an interest to it and liked to come over to watch Daryl work on it a lot. Daryl didn't mind the company because the boy didn't ask too many questions while he was trying to concentrate and Daryl appreciated that. He had even taken to letting Cole help him build some of it, teaching the boy what the parts were and where they fit at on the bike. Daryl saw a lot of Merle in Cole whenever they were working on that bike because Merle loved working on bikes too.

Cole's eyes lit up, "He- Heck yeah!" He said with a quick glance at his mother who raised an eyebrow at him. "Can I go over ta Daryl's tomorrow, Mom?"

Rachel shrugged, "I don't care. Ask your Dad."

Cole turned hopeful eyes to Merle who crossed his arms, lounging back against the counter to watch the conversation.

"Reckon' we can both go out there tomorrow," Merle commented.

"Who said we was invitin' yer ass?" Daryl smirked as he bit into a piece of garlic bread and his stomach rumbled in anticipation of more food.

"Fuck off brotha'," Merle replied good-naturedly.

Rachel hissed and moved to cover Cole's ears who was grinning from ear to ear at his Dad and Uncle.

"Reckon' it's too damn late ta cover tha boy's ears now darlin'. Damage is been done. Boy's damn twelve years old an' should know better'n ta repeat shit I say anyways," Merle said.

"That doesn't mean you can't try to control it Merle," Rachel demanded.

Daryl snorted as he took a seat at the table next to Cole, "Hell yeah it does. Merle's missin' his brain ta mouth filter."

Merle snorted, "Fuck you brotha. What time ya gon' be out there tomorrow?"

"Pro'bly 'round ten. Jus' drop by whenever ya feel like it."

Merle nodded as he finished filling his plate and sat down.

"Sounds good ta me."

...


	19. Chapter 19

...

"Carol, Sophia is on line three," Andrea said as she poked her head into the little pod that Carol was cleaning after the most recent patient had been sent home.

Carol glanced over her shoulder at Andrea, feeling a sense of doom settling over her body. Glancing at her watch she saw that it was a little after three so school had to be out already.

She frowned, "Alright. She's okay, right?"

Andrea nodded, obviously knowing more than she cared to share at the moment, "She's calling from the school."

Carol sighed, "She got into another fight, didn't she?"

She brushed past Andrea and headed towards the desk, dreading the phone call already. She just hoped that Sophia hadn't gotten herself hurt or suspended from school. Carol stepped to the back desk to pick up the extension that would afford her the most privacy.

"This is Carol," She said into the phone.

"Hi Mom," Sophia replied.

"Sophia, what's going on? Are you still at school?"

There was a pause. "I'm in the principal's office. They want you to come and get me because they need to talk to you."

Carol pinched the skin between her eyebrows tiredly.

"Sophia did you get into another fight?"

Another pause. "It wasn't my fault," Sophia burst out breathlessly.

"Just stop Sophia," Carol's stern tone cut her daughter off. "I wish you would think these things through before you do them. I thought I taught you better than that and now I have to leave my job to come all the way to your school and talk to the principal. It's not easy to have to leave work for this."

"I'm sorry Mama," Sophia's said softly, guilt edging into her tone.

Carol sighed, "Tell your principal I'll be there soon."

...

Carol walked into the school and headed straight for the principal's office. Unfortunately she knew very well its location since Sophia had already deemed it acceptable to visit it twice this year. Carol couldn't remember having this problem with Sophia last year, but she was determined to put a stop to it. She braced herself as she stopped in front of the frosted glass door that had the principal's name etched into the glass. Knocking once, she waited until she heard someone call to her to come in and she took a deep breath as she opened the door.

Sophia sat slumped into the chair directly across from the principal's desk, looking for all the world like someone sentenced to death row. She glanced up at Carol almost guiltily as she entered. Carol nodded to Ms. Washington, the two of them already familiar with each other.

"Sorry to pull you away from work, Mrs. Peletier," Ms. Washington said.

Carol offered up a small smile for the woman, "Please, call me Carol and it's not your fault," She took a seat next to Sophia, "What happened?"

Ms. Washington glanced over at Sophia and then back at Carol, "It seems that Sophia found it necessary to climb the fence during recess and go outside of school property. One of the students saw her and alerted the teacher on duty."

Carol bit her lip, feeling the tension creep into her shoulders.

"I wasn't going nowhere! I..." Sophia tugged on Carol's arm almost desperately, "There was a dog just on the other side Mama. It was hurt and I wanted to take it to the vet for medical attention!"

Carol was torn. On one hand she was immensely glad that she wasn't here because of some sort of fight that Sophia had gotten into, but on the other she was still mad that Sophia had ventured outside of school property. She could have been snatched up by anyone and Carol shivered as she thought of the reports that she heard on the news almost daily about kids going missing.

"Sophia you can't just do things like that," Carol stared down at her daughter. "You should have gone to one of the teachers and let them handle it."

Ms. Washington cleared her throat and both Carol and Sophia looked back at the woman almost as if they had forgotten she was even still in the room.

"The dog has since been transported to the vet," Ms. Washington paused, giving Sophia a stern look before looking back at Carol. "You have to understand that this is to be taken in a very serious manner Mrs. Peletier and had something happened to Sophia those few moments that she was off of school property, we would have been held responsible for."

Carol nodded, "Absolutely, and you better believe I'll be having a stern talk with her about this."

Ms. Washington shuffled some papers on her desk, "Of course. However, being that this is Sophia's third time in my office this school year; I'm going to have to suspend her for three days, starting tomorrow."

Sophia slouched further into her chair while Carol groaned. She understood Sophia's love for all animals, but she needed to make her child understand that there were certain rules and boundaries that she must follow.

"Mama?" Sophia asked softly.

Carol turned to her daughter wearily, "What Sophia?"

"I think the dog had been hit by a car and crawled near the fence seeking shelter. I just wanted to get it some help. Please don't be mad Mama."

Carol stared at Sophia for several long moments, feeling her anger soften somewhat. She licked her lips and turned back to the principal. She would deal with her disobedient daughter later.

"What do I need to do now? Do I have to sign something?" She asked.

Ms. Washington slid over a sheet of paper and pointed to a line at the bottom, "This is just stating that we've had a meeting of sorts explaining why Sophia is being suspended and that her suspension will last for a total of three school days after which time she will be allowed back at school. If this or anything else happens again, she'll be put on a longer suspension and then the third time she's expelled."

Carol sucked in a breath, but nodded and grabbed the pen, signing her name onto the paper. She shook hands with the woman, who really did look sorry for having to call Carol there, and nodded to Sophia that it was time to go.

They walked down the long hallway in silence, the smell of chalk and books permeating the air around them. Carol didn't say anything at all as she got into the car, cranking it up and letting it idle while Sophia buckled her seatbelt.

"Are ya mad Mama?"

Carol slid the car into gear and began backing out of the space, her eyes sliding over to Sophia.

"I know your love for animals and nature runs deep, but you've got to do better Sophia."

"Yes ma'am."

...

Carol pulled up into their driveway after calling the hospital where they told her she could just stay home with Sophia since they had enough staff on hand to cover the shift. She got out of the car, Sophia trudging along slowly behind her. The girl paused as Carol walked past their porch, heading for the Greene's house next door.

"Where are we goin'?" Sophia asked.

"We're going over here to tell Mrs. Jo what's happened and see if there's any way I can get her to babysit you while I'm at work the next couple of days. I don't know what else to do," Carol said.

Jo Greene opened the door right as Carol was about to knock and she realized the woman must have seen them coming. Carol was pulled into a warm hug like usual as they were ushered inside.

"And what happened here?" Jo said with a stern tone as she placed her hands onto her wide hips and looked down at Sophia.

Carol had called the woman on her way to the school from the hospital, letting her know not to look for Sophia to get off of the bus. She hadn't told Jo much more than Sophia was in the principal's office for something because she hadn't known what for at the time. Sophia shuffled her feet around on the hardwood floor, staring down with a red face.

"Do you have any coffee Jo?" Carol asked.

The older woman's face melted into an expression of warmth and she gestured to the kitchen, "Just made a pot. I've got some banana bread cooling on the counter. You go on ahead. We'll be along in a minute dear," Jo shooed Carol into the kitchen where she gladly escaped.

She needed a few moments to get her thoughts together. She was startled to see Hershel Greene in the kitchen when she entered. Apparently he was too, as he jumped a little when she rounded the corner. Carol stifled a laugh at his guilty expression. She knew without asking that he had gotten into the banana bread. The older man had a strong sweet tooth as evidenced by his rounded belly.

"Carol, you startled me sweetheart," He glanced around her, obviously looking for Jo to come around the corner as well.

"She's in the foyer talking to my little jailbird," Carol said.

She opened the cabinet to grab herself a coffee cup, gesturing to Hershel with it who nodded, his mouth currently full of banana bread. She fixed two cups and cut herself a slice of the bread, sighing in satisfaction as she chewed. They leaned against the counter in a companionable silence.  
Hershel Greene had the tendency to remind Carol of her Dad, or how her Dad might be had he lived as long as Hershel. It made her sad to think of how her parents wouldn't ever know Sophia, and she was thankful of the Greene's presence in their life.

"What did the little rascal get herself into this time?" Hershel said with a slight chuckle.

Carol sighed as she took a sip of the hot coffee, "Hopped the fence at school to see about an injured dog," Carol replied.

Hershel nodded, his bushy white eyebrows furrowed in thought, "Ah, yes. Sophia has an immense love for animals. She's been asking me lots of questions lately."

Carol had figured as much. Hershel Greene had a veterinary practice in town that he ran with one other vet so that he wasn't overworking himself in his old age. He was very gifted at what he did and Carol had seen him in action a couple of times over the years.

"I know I shouldn't be mad at her for caring about the dog, but her being outside of that fence, even for only a few minutes, scares me."

"As it should. It would seem to me that she just misjudged the situation. I've mentioned a few times in her presence I'm sure, that time is of the essence when treating someone or something that is injured. Maybe I need to clarify a few things for her," Hershel scratched at his beard.

"It's not your fault. She's nine years old. She knew the consequences of jumping that fence. She's been suspended for three days for it now and I don't know whether I should punish her for doing this or not."

"She may have known the consequences of her actions, but her love for that animal may have overridden her fear of being punished. She's got a big heart, that child. If she's anything like me, I wouldn't imagine that she would regret that decision for an instant. Sometimes when the body sees something traumatic like that, it reacts without thinking of the consequences. Don't judge her too harshly for it because chances are, she's already feeling extremely guilty about it. She loves you something fierce and she hates to disappoint you."  
Carol nodded, Hershel's words soothing her. She stared off in the direction of the foyer.

"I know she does and I love her so much for it."

...


	20. Chapter 20

...

"Hand me that wrench would'ja buddy?" Daryl asked Cole.

He was lying on his back in his garage working on the bike. Cole was crouched down next to him, watching with intense concentration as Daryl worked. Merle was just outside the garage, talking to a customer on his cell phone about giving a price on a job. It had surprised Daryl at first with how good Merle was with the customers. Daryl wasn't good at all with them and he much preferred to talk to them in person than on the phone, but Merle had a way of being charming when he wanted to be.

"Thanks," Daryl grunted as he grabbed the wrench that Cole held out in front of him.

"Hey Daryl?"

"Hm?"

Daryl stuck out his tongue a little as he worked on loosening the rusty bolt from the bike.

"How come ya don't have any kids?" Cole asked.

Daryl's grip on the wrench slipped, and he fumbled to keep it from falling to the floor between his fingers. He lifted his head slightly to look at his nephew who stared back at him intently. Daryl glanced outside to see where Merle was and sighed when he spotted his brother still walking around with the cell phone to his ear.

"I jus' don't," He finally replied, hoping that would be the end to this conversation.

"But ya like kids right?"

Daryl hadn't ever really given too much thought to it, but he supposed that he did like kids. He certainly didn't have any problems with Cole, but then again Cole wasn't around him all that much either. Daryl didn't have to discipline the kid or make parental decisions for him. Sometimes Daryl wondered how Merle did it, but Merle seemed to do alright and Daryl figured Rachel had a lot to do with that. In his opinion women had that motherly instinct that he didn't feel men possessed.

"Sure. I like kids. I like you don't I?" Daryl asked with a wink.

Cole nodded and smiled, "What 'bout girls? Ya like girls too?"

Daryl swore, dropping the wrench completely this time so that it smacked him in the face as it fell. Pushing away from the bike, he rubbed at his stinging face and sat up.

"I sure as hell don't like men!" Daryl said a little more loudly than he intended.

Cole ducked his head, his face flushing a deep red. Daryl felt bad for raising his voice to the kid a little, but the question had taken him off guard. He stared at his nephew, trying to figure out what the kid was digging around for. Sometimes Cole took a long time to get to his point and he would dance around what he wanted to talk about before actually coming out with it.

"This 'bout me or ya got somethin' goin' on at school?"

Daryl leaned over and swiped one of the red shop rags he kept on hand, wiping at his greasy hands with it.

"Some of the older guys..." Cole hesitated and then shrugged.

Daryl stared at him and waited, but Cole kept quiet.

"Some o' tha guys, what?" Daryl pressed.

"There's a few guys in a grade higher 'an me that tease me," Cole said softly.

Well shit, this was Daryl's territory. He could handle this kind of stuff a lot better than he could handle questions about women and kids.

Daryl shrugged, "So what's tha problem? You a Dixon. Knock them tha hell out."

"I did fight back, but there's more of them than there is of me. They still teasin' me."

"Well what they teasin' ya about?"

"Cause one o' my friends is a girl," Cole replied.

"Oh," Daryl said as realization dawned on him, "An' ya sweet on this girl?"

Cole made a horrified face, "Hel-, I mean...no! We're just friends. I'm not into girls like that...well not her anyway," He mumbled.

Daryl chuckled as Merle finally walked back into the shop.

"What ya two yahoos talkin' 'bout?" Merle asked.

Daryl looked back at Cole who stared at him with eyes that pleaded with him not to say anything. Daryl wasn't too sure about that, but he decided to let it ride for now. He would try and bring it up to Merle later when they were alone. If the boy was getting picked on like he said, and Daryl believed him when he said he was, then Merle needed to know about it. Daryl supposed that it was time for Merle to teach the boy how to fight. The Dixon name came with a reputation for taking care of business and it was time for Cole to carry on the tradition.

"Jus' shootin' tha breeze," Daryl replied. "Got a job for us?"

Merle nodded, "Yeah. Got an older couple who wants us ta give 'em an estimate on patchin' a leaky spot on their roof. Told 'em we'd have ta come out an' look at it. Sometimes ya better off replacin' tha whole damn thing than patchin' it," Merle said.

Daryl nodded, "Sounds good. When we s'posed ta go an' give 'em an estimate?"

"Now," Merle smirked.

...

"So, who are these people again?" Daryl asked his brother as they turned into the driveway of the house they were giving the estimate on.

Merle had dropped Cole off with Rachel and they had driven Merle's truck over to the house. Daryl wasn't too keen on taking time out of his first Saturday off in a month to go do an estimate, but he knew that estimates led to work and they could always use the work. Their crew had been working a lot of weekends to finish up a couple of big projects that were almost completed. Word of mouth had increased their business dramatically and they always tried to give the lowest bids on jobs. They didn't believe in nickel and diming people to death. They wanted to make a living just like anyone else and they also understood that a lot of people were struggling just to make ends meet.

Merle glanced down at the piece of paper in his hand where he had scrawled a name and an address in his trademark chicken scratch. Daryl didn't know how his brother could even read his own handwriting sometimes, but he did.

"Hershel Greene," Merle replied. "Said he's a veterinarian so he's busy durin' tha week a lot. Told him we weren't doin' nothin' today anyway so we'd come on out an' take a look."

"Damn straight we weren't doin' nothin'. That was tha whole point o' takin' tha weekend off," Daryl said.

"Shut yer trap brotha. Won't take too long an' maybe we can stop by tha junkyard on tha way home, see if'n Axel's got some new shit in might fit ya bike," Merle said as he pulled the truck up in front of the ranch style home.

Daryl perked up a little at the mention of the junkyard. It was run by a man named Axel that Daryl and Merle had gotten to know pretty well over the years. He was a little weasel of a guy, but he was nice enough if you knew how to handle his type. Axel was good at keeping an eye out for certain parts that came through that Daryl could use when rebuilding his bike. He loved going out there and he and Merle could stay out there for hours if they weren't careful.

"Alright. Let's get this shit taken care of then," Daryl said as he grabbed the clipboard they kept in the door panel of the truck.

Daryl let Merle knock on the door while he took in the appearance of the house from the outside. The outside of the house was kept up very well with nicely trimmed hedges lined along the long white porch. It had the shingled roof like Merle had told him about on the drive over with vinyl siding and a cement walkway.

The door opened a few minutes later and an elderly man stepped out who Daryl thought closely resembled the men who played Santa at the mall. He even had the belly too and Daryl chuckled to himself.

"You must be the Dixons?" The man asked as he stuck out his hand to Merle who shook it in greeting.

"That we are," Merle replied. "I'm Merle and this here is my brotha Daryl."

Daryl stepped forward to shake the man's hand, nodding to him in greeting.

"Well come on in! My wife Josephine is baking some brownies and if my senses do not fail me, I do believe they are coming out of the oven now," Hershel chuckled.

Daryl and Merle exchanged a glance as they followed the man inside of the house. Daryl's nostrils were invaded with pleasant smells as he entered and his stomach grumbled loudly as he sniffed at the air.

Hershel glanced back at him, "Careful. You can put on a few pounds just by smell alone."

Daryl's face reddened and Merle chuckled.

"Reckon' a few pounds ain't gonna make much difference. Jus' work it off later, ain't that right Daryl?" Merle asked.

Daryl snorted, "I'm sure Rachel might say different. I ain't got nobody ta impress though," Daryl joked.

They entered the kitchen which Daryl thought resembled something out of a magazine. It looked to have been recently remodeled and Daryl saw a woman and a little girl standing at the counter talking. The woman looked up as they entered and smiled warmly at them.

"Jo, these are the Dixon brothers that I talked to on the phone earlier. They're going to give us an estimate on fixing that leak in our roof," Hershel said.

Hershel's wife wiped off her hands on the apron she was wearing and walked over to them, "I'm Josephine Greene, but you can just call me Jo, none of that Mrs. Greene business," She said with a smile.

Daryl liked the woman instantly as they introduced themselves and shook hands again. There was just something so warm about her that it seemed almost impossible not to like her.

"An' who do we have here?" Merle said as he peered around at the girl who was staring at them curiously, "Yer granddaughter?" Merle asked Hershel.

Hershel smiled and put an arm around the little girl, "She's our granddaughter in every way that matters. I suppose we'll keep her around a little bit. Someone's got to help me eat all this good food, right Sophia?"

Sophia smiled up at the man and nodded, "Yessir," She replied.

"Ya said ya leak is in tha guest bedroom?" Daryl asked as he recalled the bits that Merle had told him.

Hershel nodded, "That it is. If you'll come this way, I'll show you where."

"Make sure you stop back by here before you leave and get yourselves some of these brownies. They were made special by Sophia and me," Jo called out after them.

Daryl and Merle followed Hershel down the long hallway, glancing behind him as he heard the soft patter of footsteps. Sophia stared back at him almost defiantly and he nodded at her as he turned back around. He and Merle inspected the corner of the room where it was clearly obvious the leak was and Daryl made several notes on the clipboard.

Hershel took them out back where they surveyed the roof and Daryl retrieved the ladder from the truck so that he and Merle could walk around on top of the house. It took them about an hour total to do their inspection. They came to the conclusion that a patch would be acceptable considering the location of the leak and the condition of the rest of the roof if that was what Hershel preferred to do. Daryl gave the man a quote on completing the job and Hershel accepted.

"We should pro'bly be able ta start on it towards tha middle o' tha week if that's okay?" Merle asked Hershel.

Hershel nodded, "Sounds just fine with me young man. I'll be at the office, but Jo is always here."

"Sounds good. Well we'll give ya a call 'fore we send our crew out ta make sure," Merle said.

They shook hands again and started towards the truck.

"Oh, don't forget your brownies! Jo will have a fit if I don't send you home with some. That woman thinks everyone who visits should leave with something to eat," Hershel shook his head, but he was smiling. He turned to the little girl, "Sophia, will you run into the house and tell Mrs. Jo to send out some of those brownies for these gentleman?"

Sophia nodded and disappeared into the house. Daryl loaded the ladder back onto the truck, pausing to light a cigarette by the tailgate as Merle and Hershel talked. His mind drifted to other things and he thought about what Cole had asked him about kids. At this point in his life, he wasn't entirely sure that it would ever happen, especially since he wasn't seeing anyone. He had tried to go out a couple of times with women that Rachel and Merle set him up with, but it never seemed to work for him. He wasn't the touchy-feely type that women seemed to go for these days. Not to mention that none of them were Carol. He tried not to, but his brain would always end up comparing everyone to her and so far no one had measured up.

"Those are bad for ya, ya know," A small voice said.

Daryl blew out a cloud of smoke, his gaze drifting down to the skinny brown haired girl in front of him. He hadn't even heard the damn girl walk up to him he had been so lost in his own thoughts.

"Yeah I know," He replied as he stubbed out the cigarette on the tailgate and flicked the butt onto the bed of the truck.

She wrinkled her nose at him, "So ya know that they can cause heart disease an' cancer, but ya still smoke them anyway?"

"Ya sure know a lot for a lil' kid," He mused.

She put her hands on her hips and gave him a glare, "I'm not a little kid and my Mama is a nurse. She teaches me a lot," She huffed.

"Sounds like ya gotta smart mama," Daryl observed. He glanced over at Merle who gestured to the truck with a tilt of his head, indicating that he was ready to go. "Well, see ya 'round kid."

Sophia rolled her eyes, "Told ya I'm not a kid. Ya got wax in your ears?" She shook her head in exasperation, " See ya," She called as she skipped over to where Hershel was examining a rose bush.

Daryl shook his head as he climbed into the truck, "Kid's got spunk," He said.

Merle chuckled, "That she does. Reminds me of ya lil' girlfriend. Girl had more balls 'an you did."

Daryl flipped him the finger, "Fuck you."

...

**A quick note of thanks to those who reviewed! It is much appreciated!**


	21. Chapter 21

...

"Carol, we've got a man in pod ten who's got himself a boo boo," Tammy, one of the nurses on duty said to her. "Doctor Quaye says to stitch him up and give him this prescription for pain."

Carol nodded as she picked up the chart, barely giving it a glance. After dropping Sophia off at the Greenes this morning she had come into work to find out that she would be pulling twelve hour shifts for the next few days. She was worried about Jo having to watch Sophia so much, but Jo insisted she wasn't a bother. It still didn't stop Carol from feeling bad.

She stood up and stretched her back, feeling it crack before she headed down to number ten. Pulling back the curtain, she finally glanced down at the name on the chart.

"Okay Mr. Grimes, let's get you stitched up," She said cheerily as she pulled the curtain back closed behind her.

When she was greeted to nothing but silence, she finally glanced up and recognition crossed her face.

"Rick?" Carol asked as the name on the chart finally clicked into place in her mind.

He looked different, but at the same time he still looked much the same as he had before. Except that now he was actually wearing the police uniform instead of going to school so that he could.

Rick chuckled and shook his head in disbelief, "Small world," He said teasingly.

Carol set the chart down on the counter by the sink, "You're telling me. How have you been?"

He lifted his left arm and gave her a small smile, "I've been better," He replied.

Carol removed the gauze that the doctor had placed over the wound to keep out infection and looked at the cut. The skin was a little jagged and the cut itself was about four inches long. She grimaced and glanced up into his face.

"Crossed a fence trying to chase a perp. Jagged edge up top caught my arm and tore the skin," He explained.

Carol made a face, "Well as the doctor may have already told you, it's going to need stitches," She said.

Rick nodded, "Yeah, I figured. I'm up to date on all my shots too thank goodness."

Carol worked to open a fresh needle and the thread that she would need to stitch the wound closed with. She set to work preparing the items that she needed onto a metal tray and positioned it close to Rick so that everything was within reach. She had done so many stitches since becoming a nurse that she felt she could almost do stitches with her eyes closed.

She sat down on the rolling stool and grabbed his arm, resting it across her thigh, "Just relax," She said softly.

She could feel him looking down at her and when she inserted the needle he barely flinched. It was a little awkward being this close to him after everything that had happened so many years ago. It wasn't an uncomfortable sort of awkwardness and nothing that she couldn't handle though. She had been in more than her fair share of tough situations over the years.

"So I guess I don't have to ask you if you finished college?" Rick teased lightly.

Carol smiled softly as she remained focused on the stitches, the action almost relaxing to her.

"Actually I haven't graduated yet. I failed my final but they agreed to give me a trial run," She said with the most serious face that she could muster.

Carol felt him grow still beside her and she snickered, her eyes dancing with mischief as she looked up at him. His body relaxed when he saw the teasing in her eyes and he finally chuckled.

"Had me going there for a second."

"I see you're an officer now. How are you liking it?"

"I enjoy it a lot. It gives me a sense of pride to help people through difficult situations," He replied.

Carol finished the stitch, reaching to the table for the scissors to snip off the end so that she could tie it off. She double checked her work and then nodded in approval before grabbing the tray to begin clean up. Rick reached out with his hand and grabbed her arm lightly.

"Carol...I wanted to apologize to you for what happened all those years ago at that bar. I was egging that guy on and I shouldn't have,but I didn't know if I would be welcome back at the bar. I kind of hope that we can start over," He said.

Carol swallowed, her gaze flicking to the wall and then back down to meet his.

"I have a child, a daughter...I'm not looking to date anyone," She finally replied.

Rick looked confused and then he laughed. Carol frowned, unsure of which part of her sentence that he found funny. Then Rick held up his left hand, his wedding band shining brightly in the light. A look of recognition crossed Carol's face and she felt herself grow red with embarrassment.

"I meant as friends. I'm married now to a woman named Lori and we have a son, Carl," Rick withdrew his wallet from his back pocket and opened it, revealing a picture of what she assumed to be his wife and son.

She smiled up at him after glancing at it, "You have a beautiful family," She said, "Of course we can be friends."

"What about you? Did you marry that guy from the bar? You two seemed pretty smitten with one another," He asked as he tucked his wallet back into its place.

Carol moved around the room, her mood sinking as she thought of Daryl. She had been doing really well lately not thinking about him. It was a constant effort to keep him from her mind, but she was actively trying. Now Rick had to bring him up and now her brain was back to thinking about him again.

She sighed and shook her head, "No. I was married to a guy named Ed Peletier. We divorced years ago after he thought it was okay to beat me. I couldn't have Sophia around that."

Rick's face wrinkled in sympathy, "I'm so sorry to hear that. It's good to know that you were able to get away from it."

Carol nodded in agreement. It was good, but all the same she never really felt like she was fully away from it. Granted, she carried no physical scars from it, but emotionally it was still hard. After Daryl's abrupt departure and then her failed marriage to Ed, she wasn't sure if she was even cut out for a relationship. Sophia was really the only family she had left in the world and if it weren't for her, Carol wasn't sure where she would be at in her life right now.

...

Daryl's crew had gotten finished with their project a lot sooner than anticipated so he took a couple of the guys over to the Greene place to get them started on their roof. He left a couple of his crew behind to do the clean up at the last job, figuring it wouldn't take a full crew to get this one completed.

So far everything was going well. He had called Jo Greene this morning to ask if it would be okay to go ahead and start on the project and she had agreed. They had only been out at the job for about an hour and Daryl glanced at the time on his cell phone, seeing that lunch time wasn't very far away.

"Hey T!"

T-Dog poked his head over the side of the roof, wiping at the sweat that had already started to run down his face from the heat of the sun. Roof jobs were a bitch in the heat and Daryl could feel his own shirt sticking to his skin. Even though he was clearly tired, T-Dog still flashed him a smile.

"What ya want redneck?" He called down to Daryl.

Daryl smirked at the man's nickname for him. Daryl didn't usually take too well to nicknames, but T-Dog had been a good friend to him since he had started working there and Daryl never really considered him an employee. There were lots of times that he left T-Dog in charge if he had to run out somewhere and he was always confident that the job would get done the way it was supposed to.

"Thinkin' 'bout headin' out ta get us some lunch. Got any special requests?" Daryl shouted as he looked up at the man, thankful that he had his sunshades on against the blinding sun.

T-Dog pursed his lips, scratching his bald head as he thought about it, "T-bone steak, medium well with a baked potato," He replied.

Daryl shook his head and snickered, "This ain't tha last supper. How 'bout some burgers?"

T-Dog nodded, turning his head to relay information to the two other guys that were up there working with him.

"Sounds good boss," He called back with a grin.

Daryl nodded, turning on his heel to head to the truck, the gravel driveway crunching under his boots. He stopped halfway and then decided that he should let Mrs. Greene know what he was doing since the guys would likely be stopping soon to sit down. He didn't like customers thinking that they were slacking on the job.

He knocked once on the door and then took a startled step backwards when the door was flung open almost immediately. He stared down into the blue eyes of the little girl who had given him hell the last time that he was there. She raised her brows as he stood there, forgetting for a moment why it was that he was knocking to begin with.

"Cat get your tongue?" She asked.

Daryl frowned, "Shouldn't you be in school?"

She shuffled her feet, her face growing red and Daryl knew that he had hit on a sensitive subject. He was wondering why she wasn't in school when he heard footsteps behind her.

"Sophia, who is it dear?" Jo Greene said as she appeared in the doorway moments later.

She smiled at Daryl warmly, "Mr. Dixon. Is there something you boys need?"

Daryl cleared his throat, feeling like he was twelve years old again, "Was just gonna tell ya that I'm runnin' ta town ta get tha boys somethin' ta eat. It's almost lunchtime an' didn't want ya to think we were sittin' down on tha job fer no reason."

Jo waved a hand through the air, "Nonsense! Everybody has to eat dear! You boys must be so thirsty out there too! You boys come on in here and let me fix you up something to eat," She said.

Daryl shook his head, "No ma'am. I couldn't impose on ya like that. It ain't no problem runnin' ta town. I do it all tha-"

"I won't take no for an answer," Jo interrupted, "You just give me ten minutes and you grab those boys and bring them inside in the air conditioning. It's hot as the devil's playground out there."

Daryl worked his jaw for a moment, but no words came to the surface.

Finally Jo waved her hand at him, "Go on. I'll have everything ready in ten minutes," She smiled at him before closing the door.

Apparently you didn't say no to Jo Greene when she got her mind set on something. Daryl stood there for several seconds before walking off of the porch, shaking his head in wonder as he went to round up the guys.

...

True to her word, Daryl and the three men working with him were tearing into chicken salad sandwiches with all of the trimmings no more than ten minutes later. Jo also had a full pitcher of sweet tea and a basket of cookies in the middle of the table. Daryl hadn't ever considered himself a fan of chicken salad before, but he couldn't seem to get enough of Mrs. Jo's chicken salad.

He was biting into his second sandwich when the chair across from him was pulled back and Sophia sank down into it to eat her own lunch. He glanced at the girl and their eyes met as she picked up her sandwich to take a bite. She regarded him intently and Daryl exchanged a glance with T-Dog who shrugged before he took a sip of his tea. The phone rang and Daryl watched Jo disappear down the hallway, talking animatedly to someone on the other end.

"So why ain'tcha in school? Ya home schooled?" Daryl asked the girl.

Sophia finished chewing the bite of her sandwich and shook her head, "I got suspended," She replied.

Daryl and the other guys exchanged surprised glances over the girl who seemed too young to be suspended from school. He imagined that things had changed a lot since he had been in school though.

"What did a little thing like yourself do to get suspended?" T-Dog asked.

Sophia shot him a look, "First of all, like I told this one over here," She pointed at Daryl, "I'm not a little girl and second, I was tryin' to help an injured animal."

Daryl reached into the basket for one of the cookies before they were all devoured by his crew as he stared thoughtfully at the girl. Helping an injured animal didn't seem like something to get suspended over.

"I don't get it. Ain't nothin' wrong with that. Must be more to it," He said.

She shrugged, "I hopped the fence. Went outside of school property."

"Why did you do that?" T-Dog asked.

Daryl watched Sophia carefully as she stared down into her plate. She finally lifted her eyes and stared at T-Dog.

"I was tryin' to save the dog. I didn't want it to suffer," She replied rigidly.

When she glanced back in his direction, he couldn't help the pride he felt showing in his eyes. She wasn't even his kid and he didn't know her from a stranger, but he felt proud of her in that moment for some reason. Maybe it was because she had been so fearless as to defy the rules in order to save the life of an animal that might have otherwise died. She met his stare dead on, her head tilted slightly to the side.

"Think they damn near deserve ta give ya ass a medal 'stead o' suspendin' ya," Daryl remarked.

The corners of Sophia's mouth lifted and she smiled at him crookedly.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," She replied as she stared at him almost shyly, as if she were contemplating something.

"You never did say what your name was," She finally said.

"Ya never asked," Daryl countered and Sophia rolled her eyes.

"His name's Redneck," T-Dog chimed in.

Sophia snickered as Daryl gave the man a look, "That fits," She nodded as Daryl chuckled and shook his head.

...


	22. Chapter 22

**Okay, this chapter was like pulling teeth because I've got a major headache, but I wanted to get this out because I'm going to be busy this weekend. My daughter's third birthday party is tomorrow so who knows how tired I'm going to be after 14 kids running around hyped up on cake? So, no promises, but I'll try to get something else out this weekend, but it might be Monday. I've made this chapter longer as a peace offering of sorts. :) **

**Hopefully it's not too bad and you enjoy it. Would love to know your thoughts! **

...

Daryl stood on the edge of the roof and took a long drink from his bottle of water. It seemed like it was even hotter outside and Daryl hoped that with any luck they would finish up the roof and be able to mark the job complete by the end of the day tomorrow. He was exhausted. Working all those hours for the last job they had taken on had taken its toll on him. He knew he wasn't old by any means, but some days he felt like he was. Life hadn't exactly been easy on him either so that probably had a lot to do with it as well.

"Should be able to finish this one out by tomorrow afternoon if we keep at this pace," T-Dog commented from behind him.

Daryl nodded, "Yer right."

"Got anything else lined up for the rest of the week?" T-Dog sounded almost hesitant to ask and Daryl chuckled to himself.

He knew the crew was more than likely looking for some time off considering the fourth of July landed on Friday. Not to mention the fact that they were all still recovering from the grueling work schedule of the month before.

Daryl eyed him, "Got a call this mornin' as a matter of fact," He said as he tried to hide his smile.

"Oh?"

Daryl turned away and nodded, his smile breaking through. The two of them enjoyed teasing each other whenever they could and the fact that T-Dog hadn't caught onto it yet only solidified Daryl's thoughts about how tired they all were.

"Yep. Should be a big one too. Might take tha rest o' this week plus tha weekend ta do."

He heard a barely audible muttered curse behind him and he turned, cocking an eyebrow at the man. T-Dog used his shirt sleeve to wipe some of the sweat off of his forehead.

"Listen, boss...I-"

"So I'm figurin' that this job...it's gonna last from tha time this one is finished til' tha beginning of next week since it's gonna take that long for me ta feel fully rested before we can go back ta work," Daryl said.

T-Dog frowned for several moments as he processed Daryl's words and then a slow grin broke out on his face.

"You a sly one redneck. Had me goin' there," T-Dog chuckled.

Daryl grinned at his friend, "Can't help it ya was dumb enough ta fall for it. Shoulda known better," He teased.

He headed over to the ladder, looking back over the edge before he started down.

"Gotta bring up that bundle o' shingles. Y'all need anything?" Daryl called out to them.

There were a couple of murmurs of water and T-Dog shook his head no before Daryl made his way down. He tossed his empty water bottle into the bed of the truck as he paused to light himself a cigarette. One of the good things about working so hard and so much was that he didn't smoke nearly as much. Lifting up the hem of his shirt, he wiped his forehead with the already slightly damp material.

"Children present. Do not need ta see that."

Daryl lowered his shirt quickly, his face growing a faint red as he stared at Sophia. He honestly kept forgetting that the girl was there because she technically should have been in school at this time of day.

"Come ta warn me 'bout my smokin' habits again?" He asked with a smile as he blew out a cloud of smoke.

Sophia made a big show of fanning the smoke from in front of her face when in reality it had gone no where near her. She crossed her arms, chewing on her lip softly.

"Actually I was wondering if I could watch you," She muttered.

Daryl raised a brow in surprise. That was the last thing that he had expected the girl to say, but then again she hadn't said a single damn thing that he had expected since he had met her.

"Construction site ain't really tha safest place for a kid," He said.

She narrowed her eyes, "I done told you I'm not-"

"Yeah, yeah, ya ain't a kid. I know. But tha fact o' tha matter is that ya are an' it ain't. _But_, if ya promise ta stay out o' tha way then I reckon' ya can watch from a distance, but ya ain't allowed on tha roof. Deal?" He said.

Sophia thought about it for a minute and then she nodded, sticking out her hand in his direction. Daryl stared at it for several moments before grasping it with his much bigger although slightly calloused hand. Sophia smiled as they shook hands and the corner of Daryl's mouth lifted in response.

...

Three hours later, Sophia was still hanging in there like a champ. Daryl was surprised that she hadn't complained one bit the whole time. Anything that the guys needed Daryl would call down to her and then he would meet her at the bottom of the ladder once she had retrieved it. He had to point or describe some things, but it did save him time from having to walk back and forth more than was necessary.

They had an easygoing banter between them since he had said that she could hang around. Jo had been outside twice with glasses of ice cold tea for them all and Daryl had been worried that she might be mad with him for saying that Sophia could watch but she didn't seem to mind at all. As the day wore on, Daryl grew more relaxed with the girl. She reminded him a lot of his nephew Cole and it didn't bother Daryl when Cole hung around while he was working either although the kid rarely did. Cole wasn't into construction as much as he was cars and engines. Daryl figured he got that from Merle because he knew deep down that Merle would rather be tinkering with a car than building something, but so far Merle was still sticking with it.

"What time's it?" Daryl asked Rodney, one of the other guys on the crew who happened to be closest to him at the moment.

Rodney glanced down at his watch, "Three thirty-five," He replied.

Daryl nodded, "Guess we'll try an' knock off 'bout fi-"

He stopped as an ear piercing scream cut through the sound of the hammers on top of the roof. All of the men raised their heads at the same time, but Daryl was the first to stand. He walked to the edge of the roof and peered over, but he didn't see anything. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he realized that he also didn't see Sophia either. Exchanging a glance with T-Dog, Daryl started down the ladder, T-Dog right behind him.

"Sophia?" Daryl called out.

T-Dog grabbed his arm suddenly, pointing by the tree, "There!"

The two men jogged over to the tree where Sophia was standing strangely still. Daryl frowned in confusion until his eyes fell upon her arm where he could see a long gash and a steady stream of blood pouring onto the ground underneath her.

"Shit!" Without thinking Daryl grabbed the red rag from the back of his pocket and wrapped it around her arm.

As he was trying to process what had happened Jo Greene came rushing around the side of the house, her eyes scanning the yard. When she spotted them by the tree she hurried over to them a lot faster than Daryl thought a woman her age could go.

"Sophia!" She said worriedly, "What happened?"

Sophia had tears streaking down her cheeks, "I don't know. I was just messing around over there and I backed to close to that metal. I didn't think anything of it and then it started to hurt. When I looked down I was bleeding an' I got scared."

"She's gon' need stitches," Daryl told Jo.

"Are you sure?" Jo asked.

Daryl nodded, "Yes ma'am. Seen an' had my share o' accidents. She's gon' need that stitched up."

Jo twisted her hands nervously, "I'll take her to the hospital where her Mama works. Let me go grab my purse and car keys."

Daryl led Sophia around the house to Jo's car, keeping firm pressure on the wound. She was still crying, but she hadn't passed out or anything and Daryl took that as a good sign. He also knew that he was responsible for this accident. Sophia had gotten hurt on their site and Daryl needed to have his insurance pay for it. Jo Greene was back out of the house a few minutes later, keys and purse in hand.

"If it's alright with you ma'am, I'll follow y'all to tha hospital so that I can take care o' this bill an' make sure Sophia's gonna be alright," Daryl said.

"Can you ride with us?" Sophia asked as she lifted her eyes to his.

Daryl hesitated, feeling more comfortable with following along behind in his truck where he could smoke and think, but when he looked down at her, he found that he couldn't say no. He cursed under his breath and then nodded softly.

"Alright."

...

Carol yawned for the tenth time that hour, trying to cover it up with the paper she was reading for the third time. She was so tired. Between working, spending time with Sophia, and trying to keep up with housework, she was ready for a vacation.

"Let me see it," Andrea plucked the paper from her hands, her eyes scanning over the paper.

Carol thought about trying to make a grab for it back, but then decided that it wasn't worth the effort. If Andrea wanted to read it and fill it out for her then she definitely wasn't going to argue. She rested her forehead on the palms of her hands, wishing that the time would move faster. They were having a period of downtime which didn't mean that they weren't necessarily busy, but it did mean that they had enough staff that Carol didn't need to be doing anything at the moment. It wasn't long before her shift would be over and time seemed to be dragging along at a snail's pace. Carol yawned again, shaking her head to try and clear it of the sleepy fog that was trying to settle in for the duration of her shift.

"You're killing me," Andrea commented as she scribbled something on the paper, "If you yawn one more time, I'm going to have to do something drastic."

Carol chuckled as Andrea yawned a few seconds later, "Drastic?"

"Yeah. I don't know what yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something."

"I'm sorry. I'm just tired. I need one of those energy drinks," Carol moaned.

Andrea snickered, "You mean the ones we preach about to patients about how unhealthy they are?"

Carol nodded, "Those would be the ones. I need about three of them."

The phone on the desk rang, the button lighting up in red and Carol stared at it as if it were evil.

Andrea cocked an eyebrow at her, "You gonna get that?"

She sighed and then picked up the phone, clearing her throat slightly before speaking, "ER nurses station, Carol speaking."

"Carol, this is Jackie from admissions. Listen don't panic, but we've got your daughter out here. She was cut by a piece of sheet metal and I'm sending her back."

Carol nearly dropped the phone as her eyes widened, "Sophia? I'll be right there. Send her back," Carol hung up the phone before the other woman could respond and scrambled to her feet, all senses on full alert.

Andrea stood as if sensing the tension, "What's happened?"

Carol's heart rate fluttered as she moved around the desk, grabbing up her stethoscope and pressing the buzzer to unlock the double doors to the emergency room.

"Sophia's hurt. I don't know how bad," She called over her shoulder as she made her way around the desk.

As soon as Carol saw Sophia and Jo she broke out into a trot, hurrying over to her daughter and ushering her into an empty pod. She yanked off a faded red rag that was coated in Sophia's blood and tossed it to the side so that she could study Sophia's arm.

"What happened?" Carol asked them.

"I cut my arm on a piece of metal. I guess I wasn't paying enough attention," Sophia murmured.

"What were you doing outside with those men who were working on the roof?" Carol asked.

She didn't know anything about these men. The only thing she knew was that Hershel and Jo were having a leaky place in their roof repaired by some local company that they had hired. Carol had been too tired to ask too many questions.

Jo stood next to Sophia, rubbing the girl's back.

"It's my fault," Jo said, "I didn't see any harm in letting the girl be out there as long as she didn't get too close or get in the way."

Carol lifted her eyes to the woman, seeing the distress mirrored in the other woman's eyes.

She shook her head, "Could have happened to any of us I suppose."

With the wound finally cleaned to Carol's satisfaction, she moved to the cabinets to get the needle and things that she would need to stitch up her daughter's arm. She was calming down somewhat, now that she could see that Sophia wasn't on the cusp of death and that the wound wasn't actually as bad as she had thought initially.

Andrea poked her head through the curtain,"Everything okay in here?"

Carol nodded, "Just got to stitch up Sophia's arm, but she's going to live."

Carol smiled at Sophia and kissed the top of her head affectionately.

"Somebody needs to tell Redneck what's going on," Sophia said suddenly.

Carol frowned as she opened the fresh needle, "Who?"

"The guy from the construction site. He said that I could help as long as I didn't get too close. He's waiting in the lobby," Sophia replied.

Carol glanced at Jo, "Help? I thought you were just observing?"

Sophia shook her head, "No. I helped bring them tools, but I couldn't go up the ladder or anything."

Carol swallowed thickly, her temper quickly rising. It was one thing for her daughter to hang around a construction site, but an entirely different thing for the men to put her to work.

Carol glanced at Andrea, "Can you take over? I think I need to talk to this man for a moment."

Andrea nodded, quickly coming into the room and speaking to Sophia in a hushed voice. Carol removed her gloves, tossing them into the trash.

"What's this guy's name?" She asked Jo.

"Daryl. He's the only man in there at the moment," Jo responded.

Carol froze, her brain humming over the name. She quickly regained her composure, fairly certain that there must be at least a thousand men named Daryl in the city even though she herself had only encountered the one. She nodded once and then strode to the double doors, swiping her identification card over the sensor to make the doors open. Striding into the lobby she looked all around the room, seeing only one older woman and two younger women in the chairs there. Spotting Jackie at her desk, she walked over to her friend.

"Jackie did you see a man come in with Sophia and Jo?" Carol asked.

Jackie looked over the top of her computer, her eyes scanning the lobby with a frown. Then she lifted her brows and gave a nod down the hallway that led to the bathrooms.

"Here he comes," She said.

Carol smiled at her, "Thanks."

She turned around to head in that direction, her eyes lifting up and into the deep blue eyes of the man that she was holding responsible for Sophia. The man who she had been prepared to give a piece of her mind to. Apparently there was only one person named Daryl in the whole city. Either that, or Carol was destined to repeat certain instances in her life. He finally looked up and his steps faltered as a look of recognition and then surprise crossed his face. He stopped a few feet away from her, his eyes sweeping over her.

"Carol," He said softly.

His voice was the same, although a little deeper and the rest of him hadn't changed all too much. His hair was slightly longer and he was dressed in a dark green tank and jeans that were covered in various stains that Carol wasn't even going to try and make out. He had filled out a lot, his arms were bigger, more defined and he was taller than she remembered, but he was definitely the same Daryl. He seemed to shift somewhat nervously under her stare.

"It's good ta see ya," He finally said.

Carol crossed her arms, her mind a jumble of thoughts and phrases. She had so many things she wanted to say to him and her brain was tumbling over them so fast that she could barely keep up.

"I wish I could say the same to you."

...


	23. Chapter 23

**Hi! Sorry this one took a bit longer than usual to get out. I'm not sure why it was so hard to write, but it was. I'm also not entirely happy with it, but that's nothing new. It's a little shorter than normal, but my time is limited. I'm hoping I can update again soon, but we've got some rough weather headed this way and I have no idea what to expect. They are calling for 3-5 inches tonight so I'm just praying we don't lose power. I know that's not a lot of snow to some of you, but I'm in the South (U.S.) and even an inch is a lot for us! So if updates don't come for a day or two, you'll know why, but let's keep our fingers crossed! Be safe out there if you're in this mess!**

**I would love to know what you think about this chapter as well. There's a lot of things going on here between them so please don't judge either of them too harshly right now. They've got to work through some things first ;)**

...

Daryl stared at Carol standing before him with a look of pure disbelief upon his face. He couldn't believe that she was here. After all this time of him looking for her, she had been right here in the hospital. She looked good. Her hair was shorter and she was older as was he, but she still looked just as beautiful to him.

"It's good ta see ya," He said finally.

He watched as Carol crossed her arms, a bland expression upon her face. She didn't look like she was the least bit happy to see him at all, but then again he couldn't really blame her.

"I wish I could say the same to you."

_Ouch._

He supposed that he deserved that one, but it still didn't make it any easier to swallow. She didn't offer up any other words or explanations and he searched his brain for the right things to say. He had thought about this moment a lot, but now that it was here, he had absolutely no idea what to do.

"Didn't know ya worked here. Looked ya up in the phone book, but couldn't ever find ya," he said finally.

"I got married so my last name isn't Halcomb anymore. It's Peletier," Carol replied.

_Married?_ She had gotten married? Daryl felt like he had just been punched in the gut. It was probably that cop from the bar. He wanted to turn around and walk away, but his feet wouldn't move. He hadn't really thought about the possibility of her being married and now that he was thinking about it, he didn't like it one bit. He glanced down at her hand, frowning at the absence of a wedding ring. She followed his gaze.

"I also got divorced."

Daryl blew out a breath, running a hand through his hair._ Holy hell, this was a lot to take in._

"Sorry ta hear that," He murmured.

She shrugged, "It was for the best and I don't regret it. Listen, the reason I came out here is because Sophia said that you told her that she could watch you guys out at the job site. I don't think that's a very safe place to be for a nine year old, do you?"

Daryl tilted his head, his brain trying to process everything that was happening here. Sophia?

"Wait- Is Sophia _your_ daughter?" Daryl asked.

"Well yeah. No one told you?"

He shook his head. So that meant that Carol lived next door to the Greene house. She had been right there under his nose the entire time and he hadn't known it.

"Ain't like I go 'round askin' kids who their parents are. An' I'm real sorry she got hurt. That's why I came so that I can take care o' tha bill an' make sure she's alright."

Carol shook her head, taking a step backwards, "I'll take care of it. Besides I'm sure your boss wouldn't be too happy with you if he found out about it," She said.

He shook his head with a smirk and started to correct her, but then decided against it. What difference did it make anyhow? She was clearly upset with him and he needed to find a way to fix it. There would be time for specifics later. Right now, he had more important things to focus on.

"How's she doin'?" He asked about Sophia.

"She's fine. Needs stitches, but otherwise she's okay," Carol replied.

"Good. I'm sorry she got hurt," He offered.

"Don't worry about it. It's not the first time she's gotten hurt," Carol sighed, "Listen, we obviously have some things we need to talk about and this isn't the place or time to do that. I'm off tomorrow. If you're free for dinner you should come by so we can talk," She suggested.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah I could do that. Should I bring anythin'?"

Carol shook her head, "No, just yourself. We try to eat by six when I'm not working."

She turned to walk away and Daryl took a step forward, not quite wanting the conversation to be over yet.

"Could ya tell Mrs. Jo that I got a way home? I rode up here with 'er an' Sophia," Daryl explained.

Carol stopped, still not turning around and she nodded, "I will. Thanks."

He watched her walk away and then glanced over at the woman behind the desk who was doing her best to pretend to be busy when he knew that she had been watching them intently. He walked over to her, watching her eyes grow wide as he stopped in front of her.

"I'm responsible for tha bill for that lil' girl I came in with. Can I give ya my address ta make sure it gets mailed to me?" Daryl asked.

The woman swallowed and typed several things onto her computer, "Sure. Give me one minute."

Daryl nodded, reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. He sent a quick text message to Merle, telling him where he was and that he needed a ride, but he was okay. He needed to take some time to get his head on straight here. He had some thinking to do as far as Carol was concerned. She was inviting him over for dinner to talk, so he was hoping that it meant she was wanting to try and work some things out between them. Daryl was a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid. Somewhere along the way, someone thought he deserved a second chance and he was going to make the best of it.

...

Carol walked back into the room just as Andrea was finishing cleaning up from giving her the stitches. Sophia's eyes were watery, but she appeared to be holding it together quite well. Carol smiled at her daughter and kissed the top of her head.

"You okay honey?" She asked.

Sophia nodded. She raised her arm and showed Carol the stitches.

"Look Mama. Andrea said that it might scar a little, but it will make a cool story to tell once it heals," Sophia said excitedly, "I didn't even cry, not one drop!"

Carol met Andrea's eyes over the girl's head and they exchanged a smile.

"Thanks Andrea," Carol told her friend.

Andrea shrugged, "No problem. When she becomes famous one day I can always tell everyone that I was the one who stitched her up," Andrea winked at Sophia and Sophia grinned back at the woman.

With a wave, Andrea disappeared outside of the curtain and headed back to the nurse's station. Carol knew she would have to be getting back to work very soon, but first she needed to talk to Jo about some things.

"Sweetie, why don't you go out into the lobby and see if Jackie's got anymore of that candy left over from last time?" Carol asked Sophia.

Sophia slid off of the bed, "Okay!"

Carol shook her head as Sophia disappeared from view, hitting the button to the door of the lobby and barely letting it open before she ran out to look for Jackie. Jo placed her hand upon Carol's arm, giving it a small squeeze, her eyes warm and caring.

"You know, don't you?" Carol asked softly.

Jo smiled, "I suspected, yes. How did it go?"

Carol sighed, "Like hell," she let out a small laugh, "I'm so mad at him, but it's so hard to stay that way with him standing in front of me."

Jo nodded in understanding. Carol had confided in Jo about a lot of things over the years. She knew all about Carol's marriage to Ed and how Carol knew Daryl from when they were kids. She was the only one that Carol felt completely comfortable telling everything about her life to. Jo never judged her for anything and Carol loved the woman for it.

"Is he still out there?" Jo asked.

"No. He said he had a way home...I invited him over for dinner tomorrow night," Carol said.

"And? Did he accept the invitation?"

Carol nodded, plopping down onto the bed with a heavy sigh.

"I don't know what I'm doing Jo. Why didn't you tell me that he was working for you?"

"It wasn't my place. I knew that if it was meant to be, then God would see fit to bring the two of you together again. And he did. It's up to the two of you what you do now," Jo said.

"He left me all those years ago Jo. Just left me. I was devastated. He never even so much as _called_," Carol said.

She stared down at the floor, her mind drifting back to that night and then the morning after. Neither of them had known what the hell they were doing that night, but that wasn't the point. It had still meant something special to her, but apparently it hadn't meant the same to Daryl. They still needed to talk things through and clear the air between them.

"Men don't always think with their brains, my dear. You would do well to remember that. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve your wrath, but maybe you should try to put yourself in his position, try to see what he might have been thinking. You did say he's not very good with words," Jo said.

"You're probably right Jo, but it doesn't excuse it. I don't know what he's expecting when he comes to dinner, but I'm sure it's not going to be what I'm going to tell him."

Jo put her arm around Carol's shoulders as Carol stood up from the bed, "You stand your ground honey. You'll be fine."

"Oh I will, trust me. I may still have feelings for him, but that doesn't mean I'm not mad at him all the same," Carol pulled back the curtain and stopped before leaving the room, her expression one of determination, "If he thinks it's going to be easy for him, then he's got another thing coming."

...


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello from snowy South Carolina! We got about two inches here I think, give or take. I don't want it though so I hope it goes away soon! I know all of you were anxious for the dinner chapter and it got away from me a little bit once I started writing it. I'll just say that I hope you keep an open mind while reading it because I tried to keep it realistic. Hopefully I can get another chapter out for you all tomorrow. I'm going to try to work on a chapter for something else tonight so we'll see how that goes! **

**I don't always get to thank each of you personally for reviews, but I did want to say a big thank you to all of you now. The support for this has been amazing and I truly enjoy writing this one and reading all of the responses. You ALL are what make this fic as great as it is. Without you, I probably wouldn't be near as motivated as I am some days to get this out. Anyways, we've still got a lot of ground ahead so I hope you're enjoying it! :)**

...

Daryl pulled up in Carol's driveway at five thirty and sat inside of his truck for a few minutes to finish his cigarette. Truth be told he was nervous about this dinner, but he was also looking forward to it at the same time. He was even more nervous since he had talked to Merle yesterday when he had picked him up at the hospital.

Merle had brought up the possibility of Sophia being Daryl's kid, but Daryl wasn't so sure about that. Carol hadn't said anything to him about it and he felt sure that she would have contacted him before now if Sophia was his. Then again, they hadn't used any protection that night either. At this point in time, Daryl didn't know what to think. He supposed that if Carol didn't bring it up, then he would. There was always the possibility since it had been nine years since they had seen one another and Sophia was nine years old.

Putting out his cigarette, he stepped out of the truck and headed up the walkway. He knocked twice on the door and then stood there awkwardly with his hands shoved into his pockets. There was the sound of footsteps from inside and then the door was opened. Daryl found himself face to face with Sophia, only this time he took the opportunity to study her more closely. She had brown hair that was about shoulder length, but it was her eyes that he zoned in on. Eyes that were deep and blue. Eyes that looked a lot like Cole's eyes.

"You comin' in or ya just gonna stand there?" Sophia asked with her hand placed upon her hip.

Daryl cleared his throat and nodded, stepping inside of the house and into the coolness of the air conditioning.

"Dinner's almost ready. Hey look at my stitches," Sophia shoved her arm up at Daryl and he stooped down onto one knee to inspect them.

"Badass," He said to her.

She grinned widely, "I know. I can't wait to show everyone at school tomorrow."

Daryl chuckled, "Got yerself a fancy story ta tell?"

She nodded, "I'm real good at tellin' stories."

"Sophia, was that someone at the door?" Carol said as she rounded the corner from what Daryl assumed was the kitchen.

She stopped short when she saw the two of them standing by the front door talking. Daryl slowly stood, his eyes trained onto hers. She met his stare for a minute before looking away.

"Dinner's ready. I was just getting ready to set the table so you're right on time," She said.

"Need any help?" He asked as he followed her into the kitchen, Sophia right behind him.

Carol shrugged, "Sure. Sophia, will you show Daryl where everything is?"

"Daryl? Your name's Daryl?" Sophia laughed.

Daryl pretended to look offended, "Yeah well at least I ain't stuck with a name like Sophia," He teased.

Sophia stuck her tongue out at him and he returned the gesture, making her laugh as she handed him some plates. They worked together to set the table while Carol carried the food in and placed it onto the middle of the table. Daryl was getting nervous now that it was growing quiet. He was a lot more comfortable teasing Sophia because it was a lot like teasing Cole. The silence grew as they all filled their plates with food.

Finally Carol cleared her throat, "So how long have you been working construction Daryl?"

Daryl glanced up at her, "'Bout four years," He replied.

She nodded, glancing back down at her food and then the silence resumed. He could feel the tension in the air, but he hesitated to say anything because of Sophia. He didn't know how much the kid knew about anything.

"You sure know a lot 'bout it. That guy that was with you...was he your brother?" Sophia asked.

Daryl nodded, "Yep. He's tha older, more cranky one."

Sophia giggled and Carol glanced over at Daryl in surprise, "Merle works with you?"

Daryl nodded, "He an' yer old buddy Rachel have a kid together."

Carol gasped, her fork falling to the wooden floor. They both reached for it at the same time, their heads smacking together. Carol winced and Daryl retrieved the fork, rubbing his forehead tenderly. Without thinking, he reached out with his hand to touch her head, "Ya alright?" He asked softly.

Carol's breathing hitched and she pulled quickly away, a pained expression crossing her face.

"I'm fine. Thanks," She took a sip of her drink, "So Rachel and Merle have a kid? Last time I saw her, it was just her and Cole. I can't believe she has two kids now."

Daryl shook his head, "Nah, she's only got tha one. Cole's Merle's kid," Daryl explained.

Carol's eyes widened again while Sophia continued to eat, glancing back and forth between the two with interest.

"Wow. Small world," Carol commented.

Sophia finished her food and sighed, "This is boring. Can I go outside?"

Daryl stared at Sophia intently, his gaze sliding to Carol who was already looking at him. His eyes held questions and she cleared her throat before nodding at Sophia.

"Yes, that's fine. Put your plate in the sink and go ahead. Stay in the yard where I can see you though," She said.

Sophia nodded, "Yes ma'am."

She carried her plate over to the sink and then skipped out of the room, leaving the two of them alone. Carol stood, reaching for Daryl's empty plate, "Would you like more?"

Daryl shook his head, his hand reaching out and grabbing her wrist gently.

"We need ta talk," He said.

She nodded, looking down at his hand before he gently pulled it away, "Let me put these in the sink and we can go out on the front porch so I can keep an eye on Sophia."

Daryl stood and waited by the front door while she placed the plates into the sink and met him by the door, following him outside. The only thing to sit on was a porch swing which placed them side by side, their legs touching. Daryl tried to ignore the way her jeans hugged her curves and focused instead on the mailbox out in the distance. He rocked the swing lightly with his foot.

"You left me. Why?" Carol blurted out.

Daryl turned, his eyes meeting hers. He sighed, having known the question was coming, but still not entirely prepared for it.

"I got scared," He admitted. "Thought if I stayed it might screw stuff up for ya."

"And you couldn't have just told me this instead?"

"I ain't good with feelins an' shit. Ya know that."

"That's no excuse Daryl," She said.

He narrowed his eyes, "Didn't say it was. I admit I could've handled it differently, alright?"

"A lot differently. I cried! I thought that I did something wrong!" Carol's voice rose slightly and her cheeks bloomed with color.

Daryl stood up, his irritation rising. This wasn't going how he had intended. His intentions had been to apologize and he was messing it all up because she was only getting angrier at him. This wasn't going well at all.

"Ya ain't done nothin' wrong alright! It was me, all me. I was a fuck-up Carol! Weren't shit goin' right in my life an' I didn't wanna drag ya ass down with me. Ya don't know some o' tha shit I had ta do," He explained.

Carol stood from the swing so quickly, he took a step backwards. She was definitely mad and he had fucked it all up somehow, he just knew it.

"Then you should have been a man and told me something! Did you regret sleeping with me? Is that what it was?" She asked.

"What? No! Course not. How could'ja say that shit?"

They were standing mere inches apart and they were both breathing heavily, all of their anger and frustration rising to the surface. Even mad, she looked beautiful to him and he still found himself drawn to her even after all this time.

"Listen. Why don't we jus' calm down? We ain't doin' nothin' but yappin' at each other an' I don't like it."

"_You _don't like it?" Carol barked out a laugh, growing silent for a moment, "Do you know what happens when you have unprotected sex Daryl?"

Daryl's heart began to pound like a hammer beating inside of his ribcage. He stared off into the distance, his eyes landing on Sophia who was playing on a tire swing on the other side of the yard. Here it was. He could feel the overwhelming panic threatening to consume him.

"She's mine ain't she?" He asked softly.

Carol let out a sob, her hand rising to cover her mouth. She swiped at a tear that trickled from her eye and then ever so slowly nodded.

"She is."

Daryl sucked in a breath, hunching over like he had been punched in the gut. Nine years. He had a nine year old daughter. Jesus fucking Christ, he was no better than Merle. He placed his hands on his knees, trying to control his emotions. Sophia was _his_ daughter. _His_ daughter had sliced her arm yesterday and _his_ daughter had been following him around. _His_ daughter had gotten suspended from school.

"Fuck!" He shouted.

"I'm sorry. I...I tried to find you and tell you about her, but you never came back and I didn't know where you lived. The city is so big," Carol whispered.

"Ain't yer fault," He muttered as he stood up straight, "I screwed up...again."

"You don't owe me anything you know. Sophia doesn't know. If you don't want her then we don't have to tell her. She thinks Ed was her father."

Daryl froze, her words washing over him, "What? Who tha fuck is Ed?"

Carol swiped at her tears that were flowing freely now. He wanted so badly to yank her into his arms and wipe her tears away for her, but he knew she wouldn't come. There was too much going on right now, too much that needed talking about.

"Ed is my ex-husband," Carol replied.

Daryl walked to the edge of the porch and stared out at Sophia. She was hanging from the tire swing upside down, something that he himself might have done if given the opportunity. His hands clenched the porch railing so hard his knuckles turned white.

"I want ta know 'er," He said firmly. He turned back to Carol, "Why would ya think I wouldn't want my own kid?"

"I...I just didn't want you to feel pressured or like I was trying to trap you into anything because I'm not. Sophia and I, we're doing just fine on our own," Carol said.

That statement made Daryl's eyes harden. He brushed past her, trying to control the overwhelming surge of emotions that were threatening to consume him at any given moment. He stopped at the top of the steps, turning his head slightly back to her.

"Jus' fine, huh? I guess ya jus' made it real clear where I stand," He started down the steps. "I'll be givin' ya a call ta come by an' see Sophia. 'Less that's a problem?"

She shook her head, "Of course not. She's your daughter too."

He nodded, heading towards his truck. He needed to think about things.

"Where are you going? Daryl?" Carol called to him.

Daryl opened his truck door, noticing that Hershel Greene was standing on his porch, looking in their direction. He looked up at Carol again.

"I've got some stuff ta take care of. I won't be far. I'll be in touch," He said simply.

He got inside of his truck, his hands shaking slightly as he fought to get himself under control. As he backed out of the driveway, he saw Sophia watching him and his throat clenched. Of course she didn't know that he was her Daddy, but it still didn't sit well with him.

As he drove down the road he realized that he desperately wanted to know his daughter. He wanted with Sophia what Merle had with Cole, but first he had a lot of things to think over. He needed to talk to Merle, get his input on the situation. Everything was fucked up. Carol likely hated him and Sophia didn't know him, but he was going to work hard on changing that. He would make them see that they both needed _him_, just as much as he needed _them_.

It would have to work because he had no intentions of going anywhere.

...


	25. Chapter 25

**Hi everyone! Sorry I didn't get this out yesterday like I said. I've got quite a bit going on with the death of a close family friend. I'm trying to be in four different places at once so for the next few days updates might be sporadic. Things have been a little hectic on my end. I've got a little more story for you all, just to advance us on a little bit. I've got some interesting things coming up so hang in there and I'll try to get you more as soon as possible. **

**I also did a prompt for the "One True Love" community, entitled "Yearnings of the Heart". It's a Lax fic and for those who don't know, Lax is a character played by Norman on the movie, Hello Herman. If you're interested, give it a read and let me know what you think. If you haven't seen the movie, it may not make much sense to you though. It's definitely different than what I'm used to, but the prompt was all about challenging ourselves as writers so I thought I would give it a shot. **

**Thank you once again to all those who review! I can't possibly thank you all personally, but please know that it's appreciated! Stay warm and safe! Enjoy!**

...

"Merle! I need to finish these dishes!" Rachel snorted as Merle nuzzled into her neck again.

"Come on darlin'. Cole ain't home an' it's tha perfect time for some afternoon lovin'," Merle mumbled as he nibbled at her delicate flesh.

He pressed himself against her, sliding his hands down her arms and into the soapy water where she was trying to wash dishes.

"Ya know we got a dishwasher, right?" He asked.

Rachel laughed as he bumped against her, "You're insatiable and yes I know that. I'm the one that asked you to put it in here. It's not enough for a full load though so it's easier to do them by hand."

Merle sucked his teeth, pulling his hands from the water to unbuckle his belt.

"Reckon' we can do it right here," He muttered.

Rachel squealed and Merle laughed, his laughter dying out quickly as he glanced through the kitchen window and saw Daryl whip into the driveway. His brother barely had the vehicle in park before he had jumped out.

Merle fixed his pants as Rachel turned to survey the scene with a frown, "What's wrong with Daryl?" She asked.

Merle sighed. He had a damn good feeling of what was wrong with Daryl, but he couldn't say anything to Rachel yet until he was sure.

"Not quite sure yet darlin'. I'll be right back. Gonna go an' talk ta him."

Merle kissed her quickly on the lips, smiling down at her wickedly as he pulled away, "Keep that motor runnin' baby. Raincheck," He wiggled his eyebrows and she splashed water at him as he walked towards the door.

Daryl was pacing the front porch, smoking the hell out of a cigarette as Merle closed the door behind him once he stepped out. Merle crossed over to the porch railing and leaned against it, waiting his brother out. He could feel the tension radiating from him and knew that he was definitely going through something.

"Fuckin' nine Goddamn years Merle! Nine years!" Daryl suddenly yelled.

Merle scratched at his head before taking a deep breath, "Kid's yers then?"

Daryl nodded, "She is. Eyes are tha same damn shade o' blue as Cole's!"

"Dixon trademark," Merle muttered.

Daryl stopped pacing, "What?"

"Blue eyes is a Dixon trademark. All tha kids we have is gonna have blue eyes brotha. Good way ta tell if ya woman is cheatin' on ya I reckon'," Merle replied.

Daryl sat down in one of the chairs that decorated the porch and stubbed out his cigarette in the designated ashtray they had placed out there just for him.

"What'cha gonna do?" Merle leaned against the railing and crossed his legs and arms.

Daryl scoffed, "Why tha fuck does everybody keep on askin' me that? If Sophia's mine then I'm gonna be there! What tha hell else am I s'posed ta do?"

"Hey, you ain't gotta raise yer voice at me brotha," Merle said, "Findin' out ya got a kid after all that time's no piece o' fuckin' cake. Believe me, I know."

Merle glanced through the window into the kitchen where he could see Rachel finishing the dishes. He watched her move about the kitchen for a few minutes. She and Cole were his world and he would do anything to protect them, but it hadn't always been that way. When he had first found out about Cole, he had been just as angry at Daryl. It was a lot to take in, a lot of years that were lost.

"We had a fuckin' argument," Daryl muttered.

"And? Good. Ya expect ta play fuckin' house after nine years is gone? At least ya talkin' even if ya are yellin'."

Daryl sat back in the chair and stared up at Merle with a sigh.

"How did ya get ta be so good at this relationship shit?" Daryl asked.

Merle scowled, running his tongue over his teeth before replying, "Rachel makes me watch all them damn relationship shows like Dr. fuckin' Phil an' shit."

Daryl stared at him for several minutes before he busted out laughing.

"So ya takin' advice from a TV show now?"

"Fuck. You."

…...

"Mama? Is everything okay?" Sophia asked Carol.

Carol was still on the porch, staring out at the road after Daryl had left. She looked at Sophia as she climbed the steps. She hadn't intentionally led Sophia to believe that Ed was her father, but she hadn't told her otherwise either. Carol knew it was wrong, but at the time she hadn't wanted Sophia to think her father had abandoned her so she let the girl believe that Ed was her father. Now she just didn't know how to go about bringing it up. She wasn't sure how Sophia would react and in all honesty, Carol was scared Sophia would hate her for it. It was just a screwed up situation. Standing there she made the decision that she wouldn't tell Sophia until Daryl could be present. If he wanted to be a part of Sophia's life, then by all means she welcomed it.

And she missed him, God how she missed him. Sitting in the swing next to him, his leg brushing against hers had reminded her just how much. She had no idea if he felt the same because of how screwed up everything was. The truth of the matter was that they had lost precious time and a part of her could understand where he was coming from while the other part of her was still pissed at him.

"Everything's fine honey," Carol said. "Why don't you go on inside and wash up?"

Sophia remained standing there still staring at her and Carol forced a smile she didn't really feel onto her face. Unfortunately, it didn't appear that Sophia was buying into it because she walked over and sat down next to Carol. Carol sighed and put her arm around Sophia, the little girl leaning into her.

"I know everything isn't fine. You looked like you were arguing with Daryl," Sophia said. "Was he mean to you?"

Carol smiled lightly and shook her head, "No honey. He wasn't mean to me. We just had a disagreement and he had to go."

"You would tell me if he was mean to you, right Mama?"

Pulling Sophia tightly into her, Carol kissed the top of her head. Sometimes Sophia could be so intuitive and mature to only be nine years old.

"Of course I would sweetheart," She replied.

They sat there in silence for a few moments, the porch swing rocking them slightly back and forth. It was peaceful and quiet out, the sun beginning its slow downward descent. Carol could almost forget everything that was going on in her life right now as she sat here and rocked with Sophia. It was the times like these that she lived for, the quiet moments that made for some of the best memories.

She wished that things were different and maybe that Daryl was with them. She imagined them having dinner as a family and then coming outside to sit together, watching as the sun set. It was probably a long shot, but it was still nice to picture. After all Daryl never said he wanted the two of them to pick back up where they left off. He had only mentioned wanting to be a part of Sophia's life. Carol knew that was enough for her, as long as Sophia was taken care of Carol would survive through whatever she had to.

"What do you think of Daryl, Sophia?"

Sophia was quiet for a moment, her fingers playing with the fringe hanging from the pair of jeans that Carol had made into shorts for her.

"He seems pretty nice. Why?"

Carol shrugged, "Just wondering. Daryl and I...we grew up next door to one another when we were younger."

Sophia pulled back slightly to stare up at Carol, "Really? So you're best friends?"

"Um..." Carol felt her face growing red, "I suppose you could say that," She replied.

"What did ya fight about Mama?"

"It's just grown up things honey. Nothing to worry about," Carol answered.

Sophia sighed, poking her lip out and rolling her eyes, "I hate when people say that," She muttered, "Is Daryl comin' back?"

"Do you want him to?"

Sophia scrunched up her face like she was really considering her answer to that question and Carol was struck for a moment by just how much Sophia really did resemble Daryl.

Finally Sophia shrugged, "I'm okay with that. He's cool an' he thought my stitches were badass," Sophia grinned.

"Sophia!" Carol scolded, but she couldn't help smiling at the little girl's infectious smile. "You shouldn't say words like that. They're not appropriate for children."

"Daryl says a lot of those words," Sophia countered.

"Yes well..." Carol's voice trailed off as she started to use the argument of Daryl not being Sophia's parent, but clamped her mouth shut instead. She would most definitely be needing to talk to Daryl about maybe toning down his language. It was going to take some getting used to with consulting Daryl on things now. She wanted him to feel like he was most definitely a part of Sophia's life as much as he wanted to be. It would be a stretch for her to have someone else parenting with her after she and Sophia had been alone for so long now.

"I don't care what Daryl says. You know you don't say things like that," Carol said sternly, "Understand?"

"Yes ma'am," Sophia sighed.

Carol had a moment of horror as she realized that Daryl had said that Merle worked with him which meant that it was likely that Merle would be seeing Sophia as well since he was technically her uncle. Carol could only imagine the things that Sophia might spout out after spending time with Merle Dixon.

The Merle that Carol remembered had been rather wild and she could only imagine what he might be like now. It was hard to think of Merle possibly being domesticated. And then there was Rachel, her friend from the bar whom she hadn't seen in years. She needed to figure out where they lived at now so that she could go and visit with her friend. Carol didn't have many friends except for Andrea whom she had met at work. She didn't have a lot of time to make friends between work and Sophia so it would be nice to see Rachel.

She only hoped that maybe things would start looking up. It meant so much to her just to know that Daryl wasn't running away after hearing that news. She had faith that when he said he would be back, then he would be back. That had been a lot for him to take in at once, she knew. Hopefully they could work through their issues and at least be friends if nothing else.

Carol patted Sophia on the back, "Come on honey, let's go inside. You've got school tomorrow."

Sophia gave a dramatic sigh, "My suspension wasn't long enough," She grumbled.

"Sophia!"

"I'm sorry Mama! I would just rather be outside playing than be stuck in that smelly school," She said.

Carol shook her head. Daryl had no idea what he was getting when it came to Sophia. She was more like Daryl than either of them realized and it was going to be quite interesting seeing how they interacted with one another.

...


End file.
